Seaverns 

SF 

907 

H17 

1895a    . 


W^;V<;-'..V. 


evNC5  Hoib 


'M' ■■  ■ 


BOYLSTON     HALL. 


JOSEPH    R.    WATSON 

SPRINGBANK. 
MARBLEDALE.  CONN. 


TUFTS   UNIVERSITY   LIBRARIES 


3  9090  013  418  203 


V\febster  Famiiy  Library'  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
Cummmgs  School  of  Veterinan;  Medicine  at 
Tufts  University 
200  Westboro  Road 
North  Grafton,  MA  Q1 536 


Every  Man  His  Own  Farrier, 

COMMON'SENSE    INSTRUCTIONS    FOR 

SHOEIING    HORSEIS 


BALANCING  TROTTER,  PACER,  RUNNER 

Without  aid  of  Mechanical  appliances. 


R.     BOVLSTON     HALL, 

Expert  Farrier, 


^07      RI-ALXQ — BU-Li 


Contributor  to 


Spirit  of  the  Times,  New  York  City. 
Kentucky  Stock  Farm,  Lexington. 
American  Horse  Breeder.  Boston. 
The  Western  Horseman,  Indianapolis. 
Weekly  Horse  World,  Buffalo. 
The  Livery  Stable,  New  York  City. 
Rural  World,  St.  Louis. 
Breeder  and  Sportsman,  San  Francisco. 


Copyright   1895. 


N.  B.— Any  special  cases  of  peculiar  action,  irreg= 
ular,  fatiguing  and  interfering  with  proper  and 
rhythmical!  motion,  that  may  seem  to  be  too  com= 
plicated  to  be  corrected  by  instructions  contained 
in  the  following  pages,  can  have  the  attention  of 
the  author  either  by  mail — form  of  information  re- 
quired in  such  cases  is  printed  on  pages  66  and  67 
— or  personally  at  regularly  stipulated  prices  to  be 
made  known  upon  application  at  his  office  or  by 
correspondence.  He  will  visit  any  point  in  the 
country  on  satisfactory  terms. 


Si)66l-Glad  ftlumlnun  Hors6Sti06 

FOR  TRACK  AND  ROAD  USE. 


Mi 


# 


lu-c-*^ 


>i 


p>^ 


m 


.>AV; 


^2^, 


L^i^ 


This   shoe 


,im 


m 


X 


is  made  with  or  with- 


!^? 


^'ys.^ 


?^^: 

^v^^ 


out    bars  for   track  use. 
The  reason    for  putting    tl: 
bar  in   this  shoe   is   to  give    it 
strength    and    prevent    spreading, 
as  they  are  made  very  thin  and  light 
They    wear    longer    and    give    much 
better  satisfaction  than  any  other  shoe 
where    a    horse   requires    light   weight. 
My  road  shoe  is  made  steel-clad  and  bound 
with  steel  to  prevent  roughing  up.    It  has 
been  tested  in  every  way  that  a  shoe  could 
■■'J ir^?^~^^%    be  tested  and  its  durability  is  found  to  be 
't§^/^tel    double  that  of  a  steel  shoe  twice  its 
^^■^t/ig^lk    weight.    These  shoes  do  not  require  to 
K%t5^*^>i    be  heated,  and  in  fact,  they  must 
not  be  heated,  but  any  alteration 
in   the    shape    of    the    shoe   is 
readily  done  cold.      They  are 
perfectly  level  being  made  in 
steel  dies  under  2000  tons 
pressure. 
Send  for  illustrated  cata- 
logue and  price  list  to 

C.  C.  JEROME, 

35-37  S.  Canal  St.  CHICAGO. 


^ 


(Mention  this  Book.) 
1 


ST.  LOUIS  EXHIBITION  OF  ART,       NEW  ZEALAND  INT.  EXHIBITION, 
AMERICA.  AUSTRALIA. 

FIRST     PREMIUMS     AND      DIPLOMAS,  GOLD     MEDAL      AND      DIPLOMA,      FIRST 

1B74.    1875,    1876,    1877,    1878.  ORDER    OF    MERIT,    1882. 

ESTABLISHED     1  8T2. 

Zero  Marx  Sign  Works 


(INCORPORATED.) 


Signs  of  Every  Description. 

Office   and    Factory: 
160-162    E.  Superior  Strcet> 

Telephone  1031    North.  ^HICAGO. 

Zero  M/vrx 

MIRROR  ^-  SHOCK  GO. 


WE  MANUFACTURE 


Mirrors  and  Shocks, 

Mirror  Signs,  Mirror  Novelties,  Etc. 
Re-Silveringr  Old  Mirrors. 


Cffice  and  Factory  : 

160=162   E.   Superior  Street, 
CHICHGO. 

(Mention  this  Book.) 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Action,  About  Irregular 19 

Articulation 24 

Bonner,  Robert,  What  He  Says 8 

Breeders  and  Owners *. 9 

Bars,  The 18 

Bedding,  Proper,  for  Feet 21 

Balancing  Trotter  and  Pacer 60 

Calkins,  How  to  Proportion 16 

Clips  Rarely  Necessary 17 

Corns 22 

Corns,  Explanation  of 23 

Contraction 26 

"Cross  Firing" 58 

Exercise,  Walking 22 

Enquiries,  Special,  for  Shoeing 66,67 

Farriery 7 

Foals,  Feet  of « 

Fi'Og,  About  the 17 

"     the.  Again  18 

Floor,  Level 19 

Feet,  Particular  Care 20 

Foot,  The,  Needs  no  Protection.  21 

"     Cuts  1,  2,  3,  4 28 

"     APerfect 29 

"     Proper  Dimensions 29 

'*     Cut  5,  Outward  Growing 31 

"   6,  Ankle  Affected 32 

"       "   7,  Producing  Curbs,  Spavins,  etc 33 

"   8  and  18,  Knuckling,  etc 34 

"    9,  9-/2, 10,  Knee  Banging 36,36,37 

*'   ll,12,ToeIn 38,39 

"   13,  Too  Wide 38.39 

"   14,  Contracted. .     40,41 

"   15,  Jay-Eye-See  and  Direct 42 

"    16,17,  Knee  Sprung 43-4.5 

"    20,23,  Knuckling,  etc 4.5,46 

"    19,21,23,  Elbow  Hitting 4. ,48 

"    24,  Contracted  Hind 48,49 

"     Hind  Ones  Interfering ?2 

"      Growthof »i 

"     Balancing  with  Rasp,  not  Shoe -^i 

Horses,  Abusing,  at  the  Shop l2 

Hopples  or  Hobbles •:' 

Horses,  Draught '2o 

"Hitching" 5§ 

Instructions,  General,  and  Comments l^ 

Introduction •■     * 

Knife,  Farrier's '^R 

Nails,  Proper  Manner  of  Driving 16 

Protection,  Nature's -^ 

Quarter  Cracks "* 

Reader,  To  The ^ 

Runner 

Shoes,  Remove  Every  Three  Weeks 1^ 

"      Regular,  Forms  of ;;-i-- 

"       Cuts  27,  28,  32,  33 **'?^'=i 

"    25,26,30,31 50,51 

"    Hind  Ones,  Wear  Irregularly [^ 

Smith,  Let  The,  Live f" 

Sole,  The iL 

Stringhalt ??. 

Tendons  and  Ligaments  of  Fore  Leg ^^^ 

Toeing  Out  and  In ^q 

Upper  Jaw  Bit ijx 

Weights,  Toe  and  Side "' 

3 


"  Truth  crushed  to  earth  shall  rise  again,- 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers; 

But  Error,  wounded^  writhes  with  pain, 
And  dies  among  his  icor shippers.'''' 


TO 

4 

MY  BEST  FRIEND, 

THIS   BOOK 
IS    AFEECTIONATELY    DEDICATED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


A  HORSE   BLANKET 

Is  just  as  essential  as  a  horse  shoe.     Much  depends  on 
the  blanket.     Buy  a 

BuriiDflion  "Siau-on" 

STABLE    BLANKET. 


Patented  Mar.  io,  1891. 

Your  Horse  is  always  clean,  it  keeps  the  Hair  smooth 
and  glossy.  No  surcingle  required.  No  tight  girth.  No 
sore  backs.  No  chafing  of  mane.  No  rubbing  of  tail. 
No  horse  can  wear  them  under  his  feet. 

iVo   Come-off  to  them. 

WE  CONFINE  OUR  SALES  TO  JOBBERS  ONLY. 

Rlltl    IF  YOUR  DEALERS  DO  NOT  KEEP  THEM. 

LIU  0 •    we  will,  in  order  to  convince  you  of  the  superi- 
ority of   the    Burlington   "STAY -ON"  over    all 
imitations  and  old  style  blankets,  send  only  one  blanket 
to  any  address,  express  paid  on  receipt  of  price. 
"Write  for  CataloKue  and  Prices. 

BURLINGTON  BLANKET  CO. 

BURLINGTON,    WIS. 

(Mention  this  Book.) 


INTRODUCTION, 

Having  been  importuned  by  many  friends  and  for 
many  years  to  publish  a  book  on  Farriery  and  Horse- 
shoeing, I  have  finally  concluded  to  do  so.  Recognizing 
full  well  that  it  costs  time  and  money  to  properly  pre- 
pare such  a  work,  for  there  are  so  many  kinds  of  feet  of 
horses,  dissimilar  often  only  in  so  slight  a  degree,  that 
my  fear  has  been  it  would  require  too  large  a  volume 
to  contain  the  necessary  information  and  directions 
so  plainly  expressed,  and  written— "that  he  who  runs 
may  read"— so  as  to  be  easily  and  readily  understood  by 
all  who  would  require  such  information.  It  shall  be 
the  aim  of  this  book  of  instruction  to  avoid,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  technical  and  high  sounding  words  or 
phrases,  and  to  keep  down  to  commonplace  horse- 
shoer's  talk,  with  proper  regard  to  giving  plainly  and 
fully  all  necessary  directions  to  govern  in  the  prepa- 
ration and  shoeing  of  any  and  all  of  the  many  differ- 
ent sorts  of  feet  that  may  occur  to  the  writer; 
endeavoring  not  to  let  slip  any  of  the  many  peculiar 
ones  that  have  come  under  his  eye  in  his  long  and 
varied  experience. 

Farriery. 

Webster's  definition  of  a  Farrier  is  a  "Shoerof  a 
horse."  As  practiced  in  his  day  his  duties  were, 
apparently,  only  the  paring  of  the  foot  and  the  nailing 
on  of  the  iron  shoe.  But  now  it  carries  with  it  a 
broader  meaning,  it  has  become  an  Art ;  the  under- 
standing of  the  motor  power  of  the  horse,  directing 
the  preparation  of  the  foot  and  so  adjusting  its  angle 
to  the  limb  it  supports  as  to  conform  strictly  to 
Nature's  Laws  of  Propulsion,  form  the  most  import- 
ant duties  of  the  Farrier;  next  in  importance  are  the 
directions  given  the  smith  as  to  the  fitting  of  the 
shoe  to  the  foot  after  it  has  been  made  ready  to 
receive  it.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  art  of  Far- 
riery is  not  merely  paring  the   foot  and  making  and 

7 


nailing  on  the  shoe.  It  is  therefore  important,  in 
fact  necessary,  that  every  Owner  and  Breeder  should 
fully  understand  Farriery,  and  this  work  is  published 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  imparting  such  information; 
hence  the  title,  '^Every  Man  His  Own  Farrier." 

By  far  the  most  important  matters  in  connection 
with  the  proper  preparation  and  shoeing  of  the  feet,  as 
explained  in  these  pages,  will  be  such  as  apply  more 
particularly  to  light  harness  and  carriage  horses.  Quite 
a  deal  of  attention  will  be  given  to  the  '^Balancing  of 
the    Trotter,    Pacer    and    Runner"    for   speed   pur- 
poses.    The    extra    attention    is    not    given    to  the 
class  of  horses  mentioned  to   the  detriment  of  the 
comfort  of  those  that    "work  for  a    living"    as    it 
were,    for   they    will  receive     proper    consideration 
herein,   but    because    the     more    rapid     action    of 
the    former    make  them    more    amenable    to    the 
many  forms  of  lamenesses  that  afflict  too  large  a  per- 
centage of   our  horses— afflictions    almost  invariably 
traceable  to  their  unbalanced  and  improperly  shod 
feet.    One  point  it  seems  important  to  make  emphasis 
of  right  here    is:     Never   undertake  to  obtain  what  is 
called  a  ''seating''  for  the  shoe  on  the  foot,  by  applying 
it  hot.     The  shoe  should  never  be  applied  to  the  foot  of  the 
animal  lohen  too  hot  for  the  smith  to  hold  in  his  hand. 

Something^  that  Mr.  Robert  Bonner  Says. 

In  a  paper  read  at  the  dinner  of  the  New  York 
Farmers  recently  by  Mr.  Robert  Bonner,  that  gentle- 
man says:  "I  have  been  often  asked  why  is  it 
trainers  and  blacksmiths  know  so  little  about  shoe- 
ing? *  *  Because  they  know  nothing,  generally 
speaking,  of  the  anatomy  of  the  foot  and  have  no  dis- 
position to  give  the  requisite  time  to  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  it.  Besides  they  are  too  old  to  learn. 
It  is  to  the  rising  generation  that  we  must  look  for 
improvement  in  this  line.  In  my  experience  I  have 
found  that  while  old  trainers  and  blacksmiths  may 
appreciate  two  or  three  new  points  about  the  horse's 
foot,  you  will  make  them,  with  a  very  few  exceptions, 
angry  with  you  and  disgusted  with  themselves  by 
giving  them  too  many  valuable  points— points  which 

8 


they  can  neither  comprehend  nor  'digest.'  The 
result  of  this  will  be  that  they  will  feel  like  abandon- 
ing the  study  of  the  whole  subject  as  being  too 
intricate  and  complicated.'' 

The  sole  object  of  this  work  is  to  instruct  the  pres- 
ent, as  also  the  "  rising  generation,"  in  plain  language 
—avoiding  as  far  as  possible  the  use  of  all  "/larcZ 
u-orcZs"— how  comparatively  easy  it  is  to  acquire  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  of  the  foot  and 
how  to  shoe  it,  to  fit  the  horse  to  perform  with  com- 
fort, all  the  duties  his  master,  man,  requires  of  him. 
Not  to  antagonize  the  trainers  and  blacksmiths  but 
to  give  them  some  points  of  information  that  may  be, 
some  of  them  at  least,  new  to  them.  This  book  is  a 
pocket  manual  and  can  be  readily  referred  to  to  assist 
them,  possibly,  upon  some  points  on  which  they  may 
be  in  doubt. 

Breeders  and  Owners. 

Every  breeder  and  owner  of  horses  should  under- 
stand farriery  and  horseshoeing.  It  will  be  found  of 
great  benefit  to  their  stock,  and  of  consequent  pecun- 
iary advantage  to  themselves  to  possess  sufficient 
knowledge  on  these  points  to  be  enabled  to  put  such 
into  practical  use,  with  the  resultant  advantages 
promised  from  careful  practice  of  the  many  beneficial 
points  to  be  learned,  and  which  the  author  of  this 
work,  from  his  many  years  of  study  and  practice,  feels 
confident  he  can  give  plainly  and  fully  and  will  en- 
deavor to  do  so  and  in  language  easily  understood. 

Feet  of  Foals. 

The  class  to  whom  this  article  is  addressed  will 
best  conserve  their  interests  as  "breeders  and 
owners,"  by  giving  quite  a  considerable  portion  of 
their  time  and  attention  to  that  most  important 
matter,  the  keeping  of  the  feet  of  their  foals  carefully 
looked  after  while  they  are  still  sucklings.  When 
they  shall  have  become  say  about  four  to  five  weeks 
old,  yes,  even  younger  than  that,  if  any  irregularity  of 
growth  shall  have  been  discovered,  the  farrier  (horse- 
slioer)  should  be  called  to  the  farm  and  the  youngsters' 
feet  should  all  be  looked  over  and  the  rasp  brought 

9 


into  use  to  true  and  balance  them  if  requisite;  at 
this  stage  of  growth  notliing  but  the  rasp  will  be 
needed,  the  knife  not  being  necessary.  If  this  im- 
portant part  of  the  duties  of  the  careful  breeder 
are  judiciously  attended  to,  then,  when  the  foals  are 
ready  to  go  into  the  hands  of  the  smith  to  be  regularly 
shod,  he  will  have  but  little  to  do  except  smooth  off 
their  feet  and  adjust  the  shoes.         ^ 

Shoes  Kemoved  Every  Tli/ee  Weeks. 

Now,  then,  comes  up  another  and  fully  as  import- 
ant a  point  in  the  matter  of  keeping  the  feet  of  the 
colts,  and  maturer  animals,  trued,  balanced,  in 
proper  proportion  and  in  proper  angle  to  the  limbs 
they  support,  so  that  the  articulation  shall  be  as  near 
smooth  and  frictionless  as  possible,  and  that  is,  never 
aUow  the  shoes  to  remain  on  the  feet  longer  than 
thret  weeks,  when  they  should  be  removed,  reset,  or 
new'ones  put  on,  as  the  case  may  require.  The  im- 
portance of  this  is  obvious.^^,,^Jh^  feet  in  a  healthy 
state  of  growth,  grow  about/ tlw'e^-eighths  (^"Vfif  an 
inch  eacli  month  and  they  grow  irregularly,  therefore, 
to  keep  the  animal  ^'■plumh  on  his  pms,"  advantage 
must  be  taken  of  the  irregularities  of  growth  by 
observing  the  rule  pointed  out,  as  to  duration  of  time 
the  shoes  should  remain  on  the  feet,  without  removal. 


TO    THE    READER. 


After  reading  over  the  pages  of  this  work  care= 

fully,     examining     the     illustrations,     etc.,     please 

acknowledge  receipt  and  write  on  postal  card,  sent 

under  cover  with    book,   your   opinion    of    it,  and 

oblige, 

Very  respectfully, 

THE    AUTHOR. 

10 


GtiiGaQO 

Horse. 

Harness 


AND  . 


Garriaoe 
ExGlianQ6 


1629  to  1637  Wabash  Ave.,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

Incorporated,  Capital  Stock  $100,000.00,  Full  Paid. 
OrFICERS. 
ALEX'R  MacKAY,  President. 

Dr.  D.  a.  K.  STEELE,  Vice-President. 

JAS.  D.  LYNCH,  Secretary  and  Treasurer 


Eeference,  National  Bank  of  the  Kepnblic,  Chicago. 

This  company  has  unequaled  facilities  for 
the  sale  of  High  Class  Horses.  Its  location  in 
the  business  center  enables  purchasers  to  step 
in  at  any  time  on  their  way  to  and  from  business, 
to  examine  the  animals  offered  for  sale  and  they 
have  the  option  of  buying  at  auction  or  privately. 

Breeders  and  dealers  are  invited  to  ship 
their  stock  to  this  Exchange  where  they  will 
find  the  best  stabling  accommodations  and 
largest  show-ring  ever  constructed  for  the  sale 
of  horses.  Public  auctions  Tuesday  and  Satur- 
day of  each  week.  Honest  dealing  guaranteed. 
A  cordial  invitation  is  extended  to  sellers  and 
buyers  to  make  this  Exchange  their  head- 
quarters. All  business  strictly  on  commission. 
Correspondence  solicited. 

(Mention  this  Book.) 
11 


1 


RHEUMATIC  GOUT 

POSITIVELY   CURED 

Bu  DR.  BENJAMIN  BROWN'S 

Gout  and  Rbenmatic  Remedy 

Which  has  a  phenomenal  record  in  completely  master- 
ing the  disease  and  Stopping-  the  Pain  surely  in 
from  two  to  six  hours,  never  failing  to  cure.  We  have 
letters  endorsing  our  preparation  from  such  people 
of  national  reputation  as  Robt.  G.  Ingersoll,  Leander 
J.  McCormick,  Gen.  Thos.  O.  Oshorn,  Col.  A.  C.  Bab- 
cock,  Frank  Parmelee,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Hippie,  Mrs.  H.  St. 
John,  and  scores  of  others.  Send  for  circulars.  Can 
be  had  only  at  the  laboratory  of 

Dr.  BeDjamin  Brown  Mannfactnring  Co., 

2123  Michigan  Ave.  CHICAGO,  ILIi. 

WDAK    IMEIN 

Dr,    Brown's 

VEGETABLE   COMPOUND 

IS  A    POSITIVE  CURE 
Fop  all  Nervous  Diseases  and   Sexual   Exhaustion. 

This  state  of  exhaustion,  called  Impotency,  Lost 
Manhood  and  Loss  of  Power. 

Dii.  liKowN's  Vegetable  Co3ipound  completely 
masters  this  disease  in  an  easy,  safe,  reliable  and 
agreeable  manner,  as  hundreds  now  living  will  testify 
to  its  eflBcacy.  A  trial  of  a  single  package  will  con- 
vince the  most  skeptical. 

Price,  $1.00  per  package  ;  six  for  $5.00,  by  mail,  pre- 
paid, in  plain  sealed  packages.    Address  all  orders 

Dr,  Bfown's  Vegetable  Compcund  Co., 

2123  Michigan  Ave.  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

(Mention  this  Book.) 
12 


TENDONS  AND  LIGAMENTS  OF  THE  FORE  LEG. 


S— Splint 

bone 


E — Extensor      r-. 
tendon.   ^" 

M— Great 
metacarpal 
or  cannon 
bone. 


E— Extensor 

tendon.    ^ 


Flexor  perlor- 
atus. 

Flexor  perfor- 
ans. 

Metacarpal 
ligament. 

Superior  sesa- 
moideal  liga- 
ment. 


-— Q     Superior  sesa- 
moidealliga- 
Q         ment. 
Q     Flexor  perfor- 
ans. 


Flexor  perfor- 
atus. 


Bifurcation  of 
ttie  sesa- 
moideal  liga- 
ment. 


Continuation 
forward  of 
branch  of 
the  sesa- 
raoideal  liga- 
ment. 


Continuation 
of  the  flexor 
perf  or  a  ns  in- 
serted    into 
the  lower 
side    of    the 
coffin  or 
pedal  bone. 


13 


J.   L.  DAV, 

Dpapep  and  Tailop 

AUDITORIUM   ANNEX, 
222  MICHIGAN   AVENUE,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


T 


HE  author  takes  pleasure  in  inserting  the 
advertisement  of  his  friend 


JOE   DAY 


and  as  **  JOE  "  has  left  it  to  him  to  say 
what  he  chooses,  he   is  pleased  to  say : 


JOE 


keeps  abreast  of  the  times,  is  broad- 
gauged,  "up  to  date,"  and  is  always  the 
first  to  have  in  stock  the  latest  nov- 
elties of  cut  and  pattern.  The  only 
trouble  with  his  clothes  is,  they  won't 
wear  out,  inside  or  outside,  for  the  linings 
and  trimmings  correspond  in  texture  and 
durability  with  the  stuff  the  garments  are 
cut  from. 

When  you  come  to  this  great  city,  call 
and  see  "  Joe  "  and  tell  him  you  read  what 
his  friend   Hall  said. 

14 


General  Instructions  and  Comments. 

One  of  the  first  essentials  for  the  smith— the  horse- 
shoer— to  enable  him  to  practice,  with  the  desired 
success,  on  the  points  laid  down  in  these  instructions, 
is  a  fairly  smooth  level  floor  to  his  shop.  If  he  has  not 
such,  and  cares  not  to  goto  the  expense  of  laying  one, 
he  can  have  a  platform  made,  say  about  10  feet  by  5 
feet,  that  he  can  use  as  he  wishes,  and  place  at  one 
side  w^hen  not  required  for  use.  This  certainly  would 
not  put  him  to  great  expense.  Have  such  a  platform 
made  of  fairly  clear  stuff,  that  is,  free  from  knots,  so 
that  it  will  wear  and  keep  comparatively  smooth. 

Abusing-  Horses  at  the  Shop. 

Patience  is  a  virtue  and  an  essential  for  a  horse- 
shoer.  Remember  it  is  a  dumb  animal  that  is  being 
dealt  with ;  he  cannot  talk  and  inform  the  smith  that 
it  hurts  him  to  stand  on  one  foot  while  he  is  prepar- 
ing the  other  and  opposite  one  to  be  shod.  The 
crowding  on  the  nerves  at  the  base  affects  the  whole 
nerve  system  to  its  entire  centre  and  the  poor  animal 
is  in  the  same  nervous  condition  that  human  beings 
often  are.  Therefore,  be  patient  in  the  work  of  shoe- 
ing their  feet  and  wider  no  circumstances  ever  strike  a 
horse  in  the  shoeing  shop  and  particularly  never  about  the 
head.  Firmness,  but  kindness,  will  accomplish  more 
than  harsh  treatment.  The  natural  disposition  of  the 
horse  is  to  do  what  is  right  and  in  nearly  all  cases 
where  they  do  not  behave  well,  it  arises  from  having 
been  abused,  or  from  not  having  been  taught  to 
understand  what  is  wanted  of  them.  It  may  at  times 
be  necessary  to  use  a  "twitch  "  on  the  nose  of  restive 
colts  and  nervous  horses,  but  don't  abuse  the  use  of  it 
and  don't  abuse  them  in  any  way. 

Regular  Form  for  Shoes. 

When  the  feet  are  fairly  sound,  true  and  level,  need- 
ing no  peculiar  style  of  shoes,  always  shoe  them  with  a 
plain  shoe  of  even  thickness  from  heel  to  heel,  the  hind 
feet  as  well  as  the  fore  ones,  except  in  "sharpening." 

One  of  the  errors  of  horseshoe  making,  in  nearly  all 
machine  as  also  most  of  the  hand-made  ones,  is  that 

15 


of  turning  them  thicker  at  the  heels  than  in  the  front 
of  the  shoe.  This  is  wrong;  the  front  part  of  the 
shoe  wears  away  the  fastest,  therefore,  as  the  foot  is 
supposed  to  be  level  when  the  shoe  is  adjusted,  this 
irregular  wear  is  gradually  throwing  it  out  of  level. 
By  having  the  shoe  of  even  thickness  when  first  placed 
on  the  foot,  this  irregular  wear  is  not  productive  of 
much  evil,  as  far  as  the  shoe  itself  is  responsible. 

Calkins,  How  to  Proportion. 

Calkins  are  rarely  needed  for  the  shoes  of  our  light 
harness  and  carriage  horses,  for  either  foot— that  is, 
not  even  for  the  hind  ones— except  for  the  snow  path 
in  winter.    When  calkins  are  used  on  the  shoes  they 
should  be  placed  as  follows:    The  toe  calkins,  all  of 
them,  back  across  the  inside  of  the  web  of  the  shoe, 
and  they  should  not  be  made  too  long,  from  side  to 
side,  never  over  one  and  one-half  inches  in  length. 
They  should  not  be  made  too  deep  (say  about  one-half 
of  an  inch  for  the  toe  calkins  and  three-eighths  [%"]  of 
an  inch  for  those    at   the  heels)  ;  the   toe  calkins 
should  always  be  made  deeper  in  proportion  than 
those  for  the  heels,  say  as  about  four  (4)  parts  of  depth 
at  the  toe  to  three  (3)  parts  at  the  heels;  that  is,  the 
depth  of  the  shoes,    calkins  included,  must  be,  at 
the  heels,  about  three-fourths  of  that  of  the  front. 
This  will  assist  in  equalizing  the  wear  and  prove  a 
strong  feature  in  the  tendency  to  keep  the  ground  lay 
of  the  feet  level. 

Proper  3Ianner  of  Nail  Driving. 

As  a  general  rule  to  be  observed  in  nailing  the  shoes 
to  the  feet  the  nails  should  never  be  driven  too  far 
back— except  in  some  case  or  cases  that  will  be  men- 
tioned in  this  volume— they  should  never  be  driven 
into  the  wall  of  the  foot  back  of  a  point  just  a  shade 
in  front  of  the  line  of  the  wings  of  the  coffin  or  pedal 
bone.  Nails  driven  back  of  this  point  will  bind  the 
foot  together  at  the  only  point  where  Nature  has  ar- 
ranged to  give  it  a  spring,  or  easement,  to  the  blow  on 
the  ground.  These  are  general  ideas  of  nail  driving 
to  govern  in  the  ordinary  routine  of  horshoeing;  special 
cases  will  be  treated  by  themselves. 

16 


In  making  the  nail  holes  in  the  shoe,  it  is  better, 
for  many  reasons,  to  punch  each  hole  by  itself  and 
properly  countersink  on  the  ground  surface  to  obtain 
a  firm  seating  for  the  heads.  When  the  shoe  is 
creased  for  the  holes,  the  nails  have  more  play,  are 
more  apt,  therefore,  to  break  and  the  shoe  is  also 
weakened.  This  manner  of  construction  will  be 
found  to  be  the  rule  on  any  and  all  the  shoes  shown 
in  this  work  and  it  is,  unquestionably,  the  more  cor- 
rect wav. 

The  wall  of  the  hind  different  from  that  of  the 
fore  foot  is  the  thickest  and  strongest  at  the  back 
part,  nails  can,  therefore — when  necessary  to  retain  a 
firmer  hold  for  the  shoe  and  to  prevent  a  not  infre- 
quent accident,  that  of  their  spreading  at  the  heels — 
be  driven  further  back  towards  the  heels  without 
seriously  interfering  with  the  natural  expansion  of 
the  foot. 

Clips  Rarely  Necessary. 

Clips  on  shoes  should  rarely  or  never  be  used.  Shoes 
can  scarcely  be  fitted  properly  with  clips  on  them;  they 
are  a  device  fit  only  for  the  careless  and  hurried  smith 
who  uses  them  rather  than  take  a  little  more  time  and 
properly  fit  the  shoes  to  the  feet.  There  are  feet  that 
require  the  use  of  clips  on  the  shoes  and  on  such  they 
must  he  used,  as  will  be  explained  under  the  proper 
heading,  in  describing  the  class  of  feet  to  which  they 
are  necessary. 

The  Sole. 

The  sole  should  not  be  removed  from  the  foot 
—for  it  sheds  at  proper  time— only  so  much  of  it  as  is 
immediately  under  the  shoe,  to  avoid  its  pressing  on  it. 

About  the  Frog. 

The  frog  may  be  left  untouched,  except  that  it  shall 
show  any  evidence  of  thrush,  when  it  should  be  care- 
fully cleaned  out  at  the  crevice  and  at  the  sides,  thus 
removing  all  diseased  parts  so  that  any  remedies  it 
may  be  thought  proper  to  apply  shall  have  oppor- 
tunity to  act.  Also  the  ragged  edges  of  any  diseased 
frog  should  be  cleaned  off  so  as  not  to  afford  a  lodg- 

17 


ment  for  deleterious  substances.  The  frog  is  a 
cushion  placed  under  the  navicular  bone  and  joint  of 
that  name  to  ease  the  action  at  that  point  as  also  that 
of  the  flexor  tendon  that  passes  under  the  navicular 
and  fastens  on  to  the  coffin  or  pedal  bone.  Its 
India-rubber-like  consistency,  which  is  its  condition 
when  in  health,  fully  justifies  this  definition  of  its 
use,  and  experience  has  shown  that  to  be  its  office; 
it  exerts  no  influence  by  itself  ivhatever  in  expanding  or 
contracting  the  foot. 

The  Bars. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  bars;  they  do  not  in 
any  way  prevent  contraction  or  prevent  expansion. 
They  are  placed  there  as  a  strength-giving  support 
to  the  "horny  box,"  the  foot,  the  same  as  are  the  walls 
that  they  assimilate  so  nearly  to  in  texture.  They 
should  not  therefore  be  removed  only  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  do  not  protrude  below  the  surface 
lay  of  the  wall  and  need  not  necessarily  have  any 
bearing  on  the  shoe.  In  fact,  in  the  case  of  contracted 
feet  care  should  be  taken  that  they  do  not  bear  on 
the  shoe,  as  they  would  thus  force  the  commissures 
up  into  the  sensitive  foot,  hurting  the  animal  as 
would  the  nails  of  a  man's  boot  heels  forced  through 
the  inner  sole  and  pushing  up  against  his  foot  heel. 

Tbe  Frog-  Ag-ain. 

Now  having  defined  the  duties  of  the  frog,  it  must 
be  seen  that  it  must  always  be  free  to  ''give  and 
take"  as  it  were;  it  must  never,  therefore,  under  any  cir- 
cumstances be  confined  by  a  bar  across  the  heels  of 
the  shoe,  by  using  what  is  commonly  called  one  of 
the  most  pernicious  inventions,  a  "bar  shoe."  Neither 
must  it  have  a  concussive  blow.  For  two  reasons  this 
last  is  wrong: 

First.  To  properly  perform  the  duties  laid  down 
for  and  re(iuired  of  it,  it  should  not  be  subjected  to 
any  jarring  blow  that  can  be  avoided  by  properly  pre- 
paring the  foot  so  that  its  surface  shall  not  be  too 
close  to  the  ground. 

18 


Second.    It  is  rarely  that  a  foot  will  be  found  where 

the  heels  can  be  pared  down  to  so  slight  a  depth  as  to 

afford  the  so-called  "frog  pressure,"    (most  absurd 

nonsense)  that  they  will  not  be  so  low  as  to  throw  the 

articulation  all  out  of  gear  and  cause  serious  trouble 

to  it;  as  also  more  or  less  injury  to  the  tendons  and 

muscles. 

Irreg-ular  Action. 

All  irregular  action  of  the  limbs  and  feet  must  be 
attributed,  almost  invariably,  to  a  want  of  balance  in 
the  foot  or  feet.  Therefore,  to  correct  faulty  action 
look  carefully  at  the  base  to  ascertain  what  causes  the 
trouble.  Never  undertake  to  correct  such  evils  by 
more  weight  of  iron  on  one  side  of  the  foot  than  on 
the  other,  or  by  more  thickness  of  iron,  except  in  the 
rarest  of  cases— and  such  necessity  will  be  shown  in 
these  pages— at  one  point  of  the  shoe  than  at  another. 
All  such  artificial  attempts  at  correcting  faulty 
articulation  will  result  in  dire  injury  to  the  motor 
power  of  the  animal  and  must  he  strenuously  avoided 
under  any  and  all  circumstances.  Examine  carefully, 
at  all  times,  as  directed,  the  base  of  the  machinery, 
for  the  motor  power  of  the  horse  is  live  machinery,  and 
mast  be  treated  on  the  same  plane  of  scientific  me- 
chanics as  any  other  machinery. 

JLevel  Floor. 

Now,  with  reference  to  the  use  of  the  smooth  level 
floor.  This  is  required  so  that  the  horse  shall  be  able 
to  stand  as  plumb  as  it  is  possible  for  him  to  do  so, 
having  nothing  in  the  way  of  an  uneven  floor  to  make 
him  stand  otherwise.  This  is  necessary;  for  in  order 
to  true  and  balance  his  feet, the  eye  of  the  smith  must 
be  cast  up  and  down  the  front  line  of  each  leg  to  ascer- 
tain if  the  line  of  the  centre  of  the  leg  would  meet  a 
line  drawn  through  the  centre  of  the  foot  from  front 
to  back  of  such  foot,  for  no  man  living  can  true  and 
balance  the  foot  of  a  horse  by  looking  at  and  around 
the  surface,  while  the  foot  is  held  back  of  the  leg  and 
inihand.  When  the  foot  shall  look  to  be  true  and 
balanced  from  viewing  the  leg  and  foot  from  the  front, 
then  stand  at  the  side  of  the  animal,  or  rather  a  little 

19 


way  off,  and  judge  if  the  bearing  of  tlie  limb  shall 
look  to  be  in  a  comfortable  position  in  the  foot  from 
that  standpoint  of  observation.  If  so  you  have  now 
the  foot  prepared  to  receive  the  shoe. 

Directions  for  fitting  the  shoes  will  be  found  in  their 
proper  places,  as  describing  the  various  sorts  of 
fitting  for  the  many  variety  of  foot  shapes. 

Let  the  Smith  Live. 

Remember,  owners,  the  most  important  of  all  things, 
as  regards  utilizing  the  best  efforts  of  your  horses,  is 
to  give  the  most  painstaking  care  to  their  feet  and 
the  shoeing  of  them,  therefore  let  the  smith  have  a 
chance  to  live.  Employ  his  services  as  often  as  they 
shall  be  needed.  Pay  him  a  fair  price  for  the  use  you 
make  of  his  time  and  skill  and  you  will  be  the  winner 
"by  a  large  majority."  Penuriousness  in  this  respect 
will  be  found  to  be  expensive  economy. 

Particular  Care  of  Feet. 

There  is  no  need  of  anxiety  on  the  score  of  colts 
and  horses  not  receiving  suflicient  food  and  of  good 
quality,  but  there  is  cause  for  much  anxiety  as  to  a 
continuous  state  of  health  of  the  motor  powers  of  the 
animals,  so  they  shall  be  ready  and  willing,  at  all 
times,  to  perform  the  tasks  their  master,  man,  may 
set  for  them.  The  much  neglected  care  of  their  feet 
should  receive,  by  far,  the  most  careful  attention, 
too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  this  all-iw.portant  duty. 

Nature's  Protection. 

Never  cover  up  the  foot,  or  any  of  it,  on  its  ground 
surface,  more  than  what  space  a  narrow  webbed  shoe 
will  cover.  The  foot  requires  and  must  have,  at  all 
times,  a  free  circulation  of  air  all  around  it.  There- 
fore, never  use  pads,  tar,  oakum  and  such  things. 
Leave  the  sole— Nature's  protection— in  the  foot  and 
it  is  a  better  protection  than  the  ingenuity  of  man 
has  ever  yet,  or  ever  will,  discover. 

20 


The  Foot  Needs  No  "  Protection." 

The  foot  does  not  need  the  nailing  on  to  it  of  a  shoe 
for  ^'■protection.,'"  as  in  tlie  generally  accepted  meaning 
of  that  term.  Leave  the  bars  and  sole  untouched  and  it 
makes  no  diiference  how  hard  the  roads,  or  how  rough. 
Nature  has  prepared  the  foot  to  stand  any  blow  it 
gets  on  the  ground  at  any  rate  of  speed.  All  the  shoe 
is  for,  and  that  is  why  it  should  always  be  narrow- 
webbed,  is  to  protect  the  wall  from  breaking  and  from 
wearing  away — at  the  work  man  cuts  out  for  the  ani- 
mal— faster  than  Nature  can  reproduce  it.  The  nar- 
row webbed  shoe  is  the  most  desirable  for  obvious 
reasons;  in  the  first  place,  as  explained,  it  protects  all 
of  that  part  of  the  foot — the  wall — that  it  is  at  all 
needful  to  protect,  then  again  the  wide  webbed  shoe 
must  necessarily  be  heavier,  consequently  the  blow 
on  the  ground  is  heavier,  producing  that  "stinging""' 
effect  so  much  talked  about  by  trainers  and  drivers. 
There  is  a  vibrative,  concussive  blow  to  the  sole  of 
the  foot  from  the  use  of  wide  webbed  shoes  that  is 
jarring  and  painful,  and  that  it  cannot  get  from  the 
narrow  webbed  ones,  for  they  do  not  extend  to  the 
inner  surface  of  the  foot  over  the  sole.  No  harm 
can  happen  to  the  animal's  foot,  if  it  is  in  a  healthy 
state  of  growth  and  properly  balanced,  to  have  it  go 
unshod— provided  the  sharp  edge  of  the  wall  is  round- 
ed off  with  the  rasp  to  prevent  it  from  breaking  when 
coming  in  contact  with  the  ground — the  animal  can 
as  well  perform  any  rational  duties  set  for  him.  But 
then,  of  course,  this  work  is  to  instruct  how  to  properly 
shoe  the  foot  and  it  shall  be  the  aim  of  the  author  to 
carry  out,  fully,  the  requirements. 

Proper  BedcliDg-  to  Keep  Feet  Cool. 

In  many  stables,  more  particularly  in  the  western 
country  here,  it  is  customary  to  use  pine  waste,  shav- 
ings, sawdust,  etc.,  for  bedding.  On  the  score  of  the 
economy  of  first  cost,  this  is  excusable,  but  on  no 
other,  and  where  it  is  used  as  a  bedding  for  the  horse 
it  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  stall  during 
the  daytime  for  him  to  stand  on,  as  it  is  creative  of 
much  fever  in  the  feet.    The  animal  had  much  better 


stand  on  the  plain  floor,  and  this  will  not  be  fatiguing 
to  him,  if  his  feet  are  kept  in  a  healthy  state,  and  it 
will  be  the  endeavor  of  this  work  to  give  necessary 
instructions,  looking  to  that  end.  Straw  is  infinitely 
better,  but  it  should  be  kept  fresh  and  sweet.  The 
best  of  all  materials  known  to  the  author,  and  he  has 
had  considerable  experience  in  its  use,  is  sand,  the 
ocean  sand,  or  the  sand  from  our  large  lakes,  and  he 
never  knew  one  of  his  horses  to  have  fever  in  its  feet 
when  using  it.  His  horses  were  "bedded"  with  it, 
no  straw  being  used  in  addition,  they  slept  on  the 
sand,  sometimes  with,  and  sometimes  without 
blankets.  It  was  raked  over  carefully  on  top  to 
remove  the  manure  that  had  been  dropped,  and  re- 
plenished with  fresh  every  few  weeks,  about  every 
two  or  three  weeks,  his  memory  seems  to  suggest. 

Walkings  Exercise. 

This  work  is  not  intended  to  give  instruction  in 
training  and  driving,  but  one  thing  the  author  will 
say,  as  the  outcome  of  experience  from  carefully  and 
thoroughly  testing  its  efficacy,  and  that  is  that  the  best 
exercise  to  impart  strength  to  the  general  system,  to 
promote  growth  of  muscle,  muscle  that  is  supple  and 
healthy,  and  make  speed,  is  walking  exercise,  fast, 
very  fast  walking,  with  a  boy  weighing  say  125  lbs.  on 
the  back.  Not  dubbing  along  but  get  all  of  the 
horses  that  are  in  training  so  that  they  can  walk 
faster  than  4  miles  in  one  hour  (the  author  had  one 
that  walked  a  mile  in  10  minutes)  and  walk  them 
every  other  day  3  to  4  miles.  Every  trainer  and  driver 
should  understand  farriery  and  horseshoeing  and  they 
do  not  fully  understand  the  ari  of  training  and  driving 
unless  they  possess  knowledge  on  these,  the  most 
important  of  all  the  duties  belonging  to  the  trade,  as 
it  may  be  called. 

''Corns." 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  "Corn"  in  the  foot  of 
the  horse,  but  the  author  will  explain  certain  things 
in  connection  with  this  misapplied  term,  as  shall 
enable  a  proper  treatment  of  the  foot  said  to  be 
thus  afflicted.  The  discoloration  of  the  sole,  at  the 
point  at  the  back  part  of  the  foot  between  the  bar 


and  wall,  is  caused  by  a  deposit  of  extravasated  blood, 
bruised  blood,  commonly  speaking. 

The  cause  of  this  is  an  excessive  tightness  around 
the  coronet,  the  blood  gets  into  the  foot,  but  the  small 
veins  become  so  congested  that  it  cannot  make  its 
round  of  circulation,  as  it  were,  and  get  out  again;  it 
is  therefore  the  bursting  of  these  small  veins  that 
causes  their  contents  to  trickle  down  and  lodge  in  tlie 
lowest  point  of  the  foot  at  the  place  where  tlie  dis- 
coloration makes  its  appearance.  The  small  veins  can 
be,  and  are,  occasionally  broken  with  the  same  con- 
sequence, discoloration  of  the  sole,  by  the  foot  being 
too  broad  and  weak,  though  such  cases  are  so  rare  as 
to  scarcely  need  attention,  but  will  be  explained 
however. 

Explanation. 

There  is  no  discomfort  to  the  animal  at  the 
point  where  this  deposit  is  made  apparent,  and 
there  is,  therefore,  nothing  gained  by  cutting  away 
the  sole  there,  and  above  all  things,  never,  under  any 
circumstances,  should  any  foreign  substance  be 
injected  into  the  foot  after  the  foolish  operation  of 
cutting  away  the  sole  has  been  resorted  to,  as  is  too 
often  done.  The  author  has  seen  a  temporary  relief 
given  to  the  animal  by  cutting  a  piece  out  of  the  wall 
at  the  point  opposite  to  where  appears  this  discolora- 
tion, so  that  the  wall  at  that  point  has  no  bearing  on 
the  shoe.  But  as  mentioned,  this  is  only  a  temporary 
relief.  The  way  to  relieve  this  foot  of  its  tightened 
condition  at  the  coronet  is  to  put  it  into  proper  pro- 
portion, which  will  be  explained,  so  that  the  bones  of 
the  foot,  that  have  been  crowded  up  out  of  their 
proper  resting  place,  can  be  let  down,  as  it  were,  into 
the  foot,  wliere  they  properly  belong,  instead  of  being 
crowded  up  into  the  coronet.  The  author  has  seen 
horses  that  came  to  the  shop  lame,  from  so-called 
corns,  go  sound  before  they  had  gotten  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  shop,  by  relieving  the  coronet  as  sug- 
gested, without  doing  anything  else  to  the  foot,  or 
placing  upon  it  anything  but  a  plain  shoe.  For  some 
insight  into  the  manner  of  treating  a  foot  so  afflicted, 
see  direction  under  No.  14. 

23 


Quarter  Cracks. 

These  are  caused  also  by  the  tightness  at  the  coro- 
net resulting  from  the  same  unnatural  position  of  the 
bones  of  the  feet.  The  cracking  of  the  wall  at  the 
quarter  is  the  best  thing  that  could  happen,  under  the 
circumstances.  The  tightly  bound  foot  opens,  so  to 
speak,  and  the  animal  experiences  a  relief,  and  if 
now  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  expert  farrier,  he  can 
soon  increase  his  comfort, and  do  so  in  a  rational  way, 
which  will  not  be  by  using  that  most  pernicious  con- 
trivance, the  "  bar  shoe;"  a  device  never  to  be  used. 
The  author  has  removed  such  shoes  from  the  feet  and 
has  found  the  frog,  underneath  the  pernicious  bar, 
rotted  away  with  thrush. 

Articulation. 

Care  must  be  taken  in  getting  the  articulation 
started  correctly,  much,  if  not  all,  depends  on  this 
important  matter.  The  first  joint  of  this  live 
machinery  of  the  motor  power  is  made  by  the  lower 
pastern  or  coronary  bone,  playing  in  the  socket  made 
to  receive  it  in  the  pedal,  or  coflSn  bone,  and  the 
navicular  bone  that  works  in  connection  witli  these 
two. 

When  the  foot  is  true,  balanced,  in  proper  propor- 
tion and  in  proper  angle  to  the  limb  it  supports,  it  is 
a  sure  indication  that  this  foundation  joint  is  in  a 
perfectly  true  and  scientifically  correct  mechanical 
position;  consequently,  barring  a  rare  and  infrequent 
accident,  all  the  joints  throughout  the  limb  above  will 
be  found  to  be  just  as  mechanically  correct  in  their 
action.  Per  contra,  if  this  foundation  joint  is  wrong, 
making  an  uncomfortable  articulation,  with  increased 
friction,  such  a  condition  is  likely  to  be  made  manifest 
at  most  any  point  of  articulation  through  the  entire 
limb.  Yes,  even  to  interfering  with  the  action  at 
shoulders  and  quarters,  affecting  also,  as  it  is  most 
likely  to  do,  the  tendons  and  muscles  as  well. 

Toeing  Out  and  In, 

These  two  faults  are  cause  of  more  annoyance  to 
horseshoers  than  all  other  troubles  afflicting  the  fore 
feet,  put  together.    Of  course,  what  causes  the  one  is 

24 


almost  directly  opposite  to  that  causing  the  other. 
Writers  disagree  on  this  point,  and  the  author  knows 
that  he  will  be  severely  criticised  for  the  statements 
he  shall  here  make  in  regard  to  the  cause  of  these 
faulty  positions  of  the  feet,  but  then  he  is  used  to 
such  criticisms— or  more  particularly  they  may  be 
called  the  opinions  of  faultfinders— so  they  do  not  in 
the  least  disturb  him,  particularly  so,  when  his  con- 
tinued experience  on  the  lines  here  laid  down  are 
satisfying  in  the  highest  degree.  Some  people  claim 
that  the  foot  points  outward — "toes  out" — because  the 
elbow  turns  in  towards  the  body, and  per  contra  points 
inward — ''toes  in" — because  the  elbow  turns  outward, 
away  from  the  body. 

The  ground  taken  in  this  work  is  that  such  theories 
are  not  correct,  but  that  the  position  of  the  elbow  is 
made  to  be  what  it  is—  relatively  to  the  body — by  th  e 
position  of  the  foot  on  its  surface  lay,  and  that  as  it 
continues  to  turn  out  or  in,  more,  the  elbow  will  be 
affected  in  its  position  relatively  in  consequence.  One 
writer,  who  is  considered  to  be  one  of  some  eminence, 
claims  that  the  cause  of  the  foot  toeing  out,  is  its  being 
too  high  on  the  inside  heels  and  the  contrary  condi- 
tion of  the  foot  compels  it  to  toe  in.  This  work 
assumes  a  different  ground.  It  claims  that  the  toeing 
out  foot  will  be  found  to  be  too  high  from  the  point 
of  the  outside  heel,  all  along  the  outside  of  the  foot  to 
past  the  immediate  point,  a  direct  front,  of  the  foot — 
though  sometimes  this  increased  depth  may  be  notice- 
able only  up  to  just  short  of  the  point  of  toe,  and 
cease,  in  other  cases,  at  the  outside  toe;  though  often 
the  inside  of  the  foot,  from  about  the  line  of  the  win  g 
of  the  coffin  bone,  back  to  the  point  of  heel,  will  be 
found  to  be  pushed  up  so  that  measured  from  point 
where  wall  and  flesh  join,  at  the  inside  heel,  down  to 
surface  of  wall,  it  will  be  found  to  be  deeper  than 
the  opposite  heel  with  like  measurement. 

The  "toeing-in"  foot  will  be  found  to  be  caused  by 
the  inside  of  such  foot  being  too  high,  or  too  deep,  rare- 
ly, almost  never,  will  the  outside  heel  seem  to  be  af- 
fected, to  correspond,  in  an  opposite  direction,  to  the 
effect  just  noticed  of  the  inside  heel  as  affecting  the 

25 


toeing-out  foot.  Now,  there  are  no  infallible  rules 
to  govern  these  two  faulty  positions,  but  in  more  than 
95  out  of  100  cases  they  will  be  found  to  be  caused  by 
the  wrong  proportion  of  the  feet  here  laid  down. 
Either  of  the  faulty  positions  referred  to,  are  cause 
of  much  annoyance  to  the  animal,  for  they  are  pro- 
ductive of  increased  friction  with  consequent  fatigue, 
therefore,  lessened  power  to  perform,  at  any  gait,  but 
more  particularly  emphasized  as  the  rapidity  of  the 
gait  increases;  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
line  of  this  faulty  action  is  the  same  at  all  rates  of 
speed  and  does  not  change, as  seems  to  be  the  very  erro- 
neous idea,  because  of  the  more  rapid  motion;  proving 
the  well-known  fact  that  motion  may  be  quicker  than 
the  eye,  even  at  the  rate  of  the  speed-action  of  the 
feet  and  limbs  of  a  horse,  and  particularly  so  in  such 
a  case,  for  the  eye  is  confused  by  the  action  of  two 
pieces  of  machinery,  as  the  two  fore  feet,  working  in 
the  same  direction  and  so  closely  together. 

In  the  proper  place  will  be  described  how  to  prepare 
and  shoe  these  two  kinds  of  feet,  to  assist  Nature  in 
her  wise  endeavors  to  correct  the  faulty  growth  and 
establish  once  more  true,  smooth  and  comparatively 
frictionless  articulation. 

Contraction. 

"Contracted  feet,"  are  of  course  more  frequent  with 
the  fore  than  with  the  hind  ones.  Not  necessary  to 
go  into  an  exhaustive  explanation  why  this  is  so;  let  the 
fact  remain  and  let  the  endeavor  here  be  to  correct 
the  evils  of  contraction.  How  opposite  do  the  fore 
and  hind  feet  behave?  The  fore  ones  contract  most 
frequently  on  the  inside,  while  the  hind  ones  are 
more  likely  to  become  contracted  on  the  outside. 


26 


Toe  Weights  and  Side  Wei^^lits. 

That  inegular-gaited  horses  have  been  made  to 
go  more  evenly  with  their  use,  it  would  be  foolish  to 
deny,  for  such  is  unquestionably  true,  but  that  injured 
joints,  tendons  and  muscles  have  been  made  to  pay 
the  penalty  of  employing  such  agents,  is  equally  true. 

The  use  of  side  weights  rarely,  if  ever,  are  of  any 
benefit  in  changing  the  line  of  action  of  the  foot  to 
which  they  are  applied,  unless  some  attention  has 
been  given  also  to  the  foot  to  improve  the  articulation. 
They  are  more  apt  to  emphasize  the  faulty  action  and 
carry  the  foot  further  in  its  wrongly  directed  course, 
if  the  incorrect  position  of  the  foot  is  still  allowed  to 
maintain,  and  will  surely  bring,  in  such  cases,  injury 
to  the  motor  power.  If  the  feet  are  trued,  balanced, 
in  proper  porportion  and  in  proper  angle  to  the  limbs 
they  support,  the  applying  of  weights  to  them  of  any 
kind  will  not  be  found  essential  to  establish  a  true, 
rythmical  action  and  the  animal's  gameness  and 
disposition  to  do  his  best  in  fighting  out  his  races  will 
be  manifest  by  the  absence  of  such  a  handicap  of 
weight-forcing  appliances.  Immediate  results,  some- 
times, when  races  are  on,  may  be  an  excuse  for  the 
use  of  weights,  but  as  soon  afterwards  as  the 
art  of  farriery  can  be  brought  to  bear  to  assist 
nature  in  correcting  the  error  of  action,  the  horse 
should  be  taken  in  hand  and  the  feet  so  balanced  as 
to  make  the  articulation  correct,  so  that  the  animal's 
instinct  shall  suggest  to  him  that  the  smooth,  even 
gait  is  the  most  comfortable,  and  he  therefore  will 
naturally  adhere  to  It. 

Hopples  or  Hobbles. 

The  author  unhesitatingly  asserts  that  the  use  of 
the  above  named  appliances  can  be  dispensed  with  if 
the  instructions  contained  in  this  work  are  carefully 
complied  with,  and  with  greatly  increased  comfort  to 
the  animal  as  also  increased  speed  and  gameness  to 
fight  out  his  races.  He  asserts  this  because  he  can 
understandingly  do  so  from  the  fact  that  he  has  trued 
and  balanced  the  feet  of  a  great  many  that  could  not 
go  even  and  true  without  themwith  the  result  of  increas- 

27 


/ 


/ 


\ 


\ 


No.  1. 


No.  o. 


\ 


/ 


/ 


\ 


No.  t. 


28 


No.  4. 


ing  the  speed  and  enabling  tlie  animals  to  go  at  a 
smooth  and  rhythmical  gait  as  a  consequence. 

A  Perfect  Foot. 

Numbers  1,  2  and  3  represent  different  views  of  the 
same  foot.  These  views  represent  what  might  be 
called  a  foot  of  proper  proportion  and  in  proper  angle 
to  the  limb  it  supports.  If  horses'  feet  can  be  kept  in 
about  such  proportions  and  angle,  the  gait  will  be 
found  to  be  rhythmical  and  true,  with  frictionless 
articulation.  Care  must  be  taken  to  fit  the  shoes  to 
such  a  foot  even  with  the  wall  all  around  and  they 
should  be  made  of  even  thickness  from  heel  to  heel 
with  no  calkins  on  either  the  fore  or  hind  shoes, 
except  it  shall  be  necessary  to  sharpen  for  the  snow 
path,  when  of  course  calkins  must  be  used  and  placed 
on  the  shoes  as  instructed  in  the  paragraph  on  the 
subject  under  the  heading  "Calkins,  How  to  Pro- 
portion." When  the  feet  are  in  such  a  degree  of 
perfection  of  balance  and  proportion,  light,  narrow 
webbed  shoes  will  be  found  to  be  all  that  are  needed 
to  keep  the  gait  true  and  even,  and  the  hind  shoes 
should  be  made  of  the  same  bar  of  steel  that  the 
front  ones  are  made  of,  when,  if  there  shall  be  any 
difference  in  the  size  of  the  feet,  as  the  hind  ones 
on*the  same  animal  are  sometimes  found  to  be  a 
trifle  smaller  than  the  fore  ones,  they  will  each  be 
carrying  their  proper  weight.  Such  difference  will 
rarely  or  ever  be  found  to  be  greater  than  about  one- 
half  to  three-fourths  of  an  ounce. 

When  the  feet  are  kept  in  the  proportion  here  shown 
the  percentage  of  lame  horses  will  be  reduced  to  a 
minimum,  for  they  cannot  become  lame  except  by 
some  very  infrequent  accident.  Their  chances  of 
getting  lame  will  be  in  no  greater  percentage  than 
that  of  the  human  family. 

Number  4  will  give  some  ideas  of  proper  dimensions 
of  feet  by  measurement.  Height  or  depth  of  heels  all 
around,  of  all  four  feet  should  measure  comparatively 
the  same.  From  connection  of  wall  and  flesh  at  3 
straight  down  dotted  line  to  level  floor  should  meas- 
ure from  about  iSS^X^  inches  for  horses  15  hands,  up  to 

y  3  29 

^  8- 


\t^^  IVsHKI*^.  inches  for  horses  16  hands.  That  is 
assimiilating  close  to  tk^^|figure^J)epth  of  foot  from 
1  to  2  should  be  about4wS^tStft)  of  the  depth  from 
1  back  on  an  imaginary  line  running  directly  through 
the  foot  to  3,  and  this  depth  from  1  to  2  should  measure 
about  314  inches,  from  connection  of  wall  and  flesh 
at  number  1  down  to  surface  of  wall  at  number  2  on  a 
level  floor,  for  horses  15  hands  and  up  to  not  over 
3,^,  to  4  inches  for  horses  16  hands.  Of  course  these 
measurements  are  not  to  form  an  infallible  rule  of 
dimensions,  but  they  are  to  govern  for  feet  in  ordi- 
narily good  condition  of  health  and  growth.  No  foot 
must  be  rasped  down  to  these  measurements,  if  in 
doing  so  there  would  be  danger  of  going  so  low  as  to 
leave  the  sole  weak.  When  the  sole  yields  slightly, 
only,  from  a  very  hard  pressure  of  both  thumbs,  then 
the  foot  surface  is  pared,  low  enough.  If  the  proper 
depth  of  foot  can  be  obtained  before  reaching  to  the 
point  where  the  sole  will  yield  to  pressure  as  ex- 
plained, all  well  and  good,  don't  pare  down  any 
further.  Never  pare  down  to  a  point  that  the  sole  is 
not  strong  enough  and  thick  enough  to  properly  pro- 
tect the  foot,  for  that  is  what  it  is  placed  there  for 
and  only  so  much  of  it  should  be  removed  as  is  neces- 
sary to  get  the  foot  at  proper  depth  and  so  it  (the  sole) 
will  not  bear  direct  on  the  shoe. 

In  a  very  short  space  of  time  the  eyes  and  mind  of 
the  owner,  the  smith,  the  trainer,  etc.,  will  become  so 
educated  as  to  see  at  a  glance  what  is  the  proper  pro- 
portion, angle,  etc,  as  here  described,  so  that  no 
measurements  will  need  to  be  made. 


No.  5. 

Number  5.  This  is  one  of  the  first  feet  to  call 
for  an  explanation  in  shoeing,  and  it  is  a  style 
of  foot  often  seen  and  quite  puzzling  to  the 
smith.  The  cut  represents  the  bottom  of  a  nigh 
foot.  The  tendency  of  this  foot  is  to  grow 
faster  on  the  outside  than  on  the  inside  and  to 
grow  outward  and  away  from  the  leg,  so  that  it  does 
not  properly  support  the  limb.  The  rasp  should  be 
used  on  the  outside  surface,  for  a  foot  that  acquires 
this  tendency  of  growth  will  be  found,  almost  invaria- 
bly, to  be  deeper  on  the  outside  than  on  the  inside. 
But  do  not  lower  the  outside  unless  it  is  the  deepest. 
Also  rasp  off  a  little  of  the  wall  along  the  outside 
quarter  and  towards  the  toe;  do  this  each  time  the 
foot  is  shod  until  it  gets  back  into  a  correct  state  of 
growth.  Fit  the  shoe  as  shown,  driving  the  last  nail 
on  the  outside  well  back,  a  little  further  back  than 
the  nail  of  the  inside.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  shoe 
fits  snug,  a  shade  inside  of  the  wall,  all  along  the  out- 
side to  the  outside  toe,  even  with  the  wall  from  this 
point  around  to  a  shade  back  of  last  inside  nail,  and 
from  there  back  to  point  of  heel  full,  a  little  outside 

31 


No.  6. 


the  line  of  wall.  This  manner  of  fitting  the  shoe 
balances  the  irregular  foot  and  will,  consequently, 
assist  it  to  regain  its  proper  state  of  growth.  The 
support  is  lessened  on  the  stronger  portion  of  the  foot 
—the  outside— and  is  strengthened  on  the  weaker 
portion— the  inside.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  dis- 
tance of  each  inside  heel  of  shoe  from  the  crevice  of 
the  frog  at  the  heel,  is  almost  exactly  the  same,  as 
near  so  as  can  be  obtained  at  first  attempt.  It  will 
also  be  noticed  that  the  distance  of  each  side  of  the 
shoe  from  the  inside  of  web,  at  a  point  on  a  line  with 
the  point  of  the  frog,  will  be  found  to  be  about  the 
same,  showing  that  the  manner  of  fitting  the  shoe 
as  explained  makes  the  balance  of  the  f6ot  pretty 
nearly  correct. 

Number  6  represents  one  of  the  styles  of  feet  to  be 
found  forward,  more  frequently  on  many  of  our 
trotting  and  driving  horses,  and  is  placed  here  to 
show  more  particularly  the  effect  on  the  ankle  joint 
of  a  foot  of  such  incorrect  angles.  The  directions 
given  with  No.  4  will  explain  how  to  put  this  foot  in 
proper  proportion  and  angle  so  that  it  will  give  the 
needed  support  to  the  limb. 

32 


No.  7. 

Number  7  is  a  not  infrequent,  but  on  tlie  contrary, 
a  very  common  form  of  foot  to  be  seen  on  many  of 
our  horses,  more  frequently  behind,  and  it  is  the 
cause  of  crooked  legs,  Curbs,  Spavins,  Knuckling, 
etc.  In  preparing  this  foot  for  the  shoe,  the 
length  and  depth  of  the  front  of  the  foot  needs 
attention  from  the  smith  with  his  rasp  to  remove 
the  surplus.  It  most  likely  cannot,  usually,  be 
accomplished  with  the  first  preparation,  that  is, 
it  cannot  be  gotten  immediately  to  absolutely 
correct  proportions,  and  it  is  not  good  judgment  to 
undertake  to  get  it  so,  at  once,  as  the  change  would 
be  too  positive.  Nothing  must  be  taken  off  the  heels 
of  such  a  shaped  foot  until  they  shall  have  had  an 
opportunity  to  grow  down  to  below  proper  depth,  so 
in  the  meantime  until  they  shall  have  grown  to 
proper  depth,  support  the  heels  of  the  foot  with  small 
calkins  on  the  heels  of  the  shoes — none  on  the  front 
part,  however — gradually  lessen  the  depth  of  shoe— at 
each  resetting  or  re-shoeing— at  heels,calkins  included, 
until  the  foot  shall  have  grown  down  to  proper  depth, 
when  shoe  with  plain  shoes  of  even  thickness  all 
around  from  heel  to  heel. 

33 


No.  18. 


Numbers.  This  cut  shows  the  form  of  foot  to  be 
found  on  curby  legs  and  spavhied  legs;  it  is  often  found 
to  be  the  cause  of  knuckling  on  hind  ankles,  yes,  and  on 
fore  ones  also.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  foot  is  very  long 
and  very  deep  in  the  front  part  and  of  proportion- 
ately very  little  depth  at  the  heels.  The  base  of  the 
structure  is  wrong,  the  pedal,  or  coffin  bone,  is  thrown 
upward  in  front  from  the  thickening  of  the  horn  below 
and  is  canted  towards  the  back;  this  throws  the  lower 
pastern  bone— that  makes  the  first  joint  in  the  foot  in 
connection  with  the  coffin  bone — and  the  navicular 
bone  as  well,  out  of  position,  with  the  result  that  all 
of  the  succeeding  joints  are  more  or  less  "out  of 
whack"  in  their  action. 

Number  18  is  a  cut  of  foot  not  dissimilar  to  num- 
ber 8,  but  the  angle  of  the  joints  is  changed  at  the 
union  of  the  upper  pastern  and  the  main  lower  bone 
of  the  leg  so  that  the  ankle  is  affected,  the  articula- 
tion being  comparatively  correct  above  that  point, 
the  hock  joint  is  not  as  likely  to  be  also  involved,  a 
trouble  more  apt  to  result  in  the  case  of  number  8. 
Directions  under  number  4  will  explain  how  to  correct 
the  improper  proportions  of  such  feet  so  as  to 
eradicate  and  prevent  the  troubles  they  cause,  and  as 
explained. 

34 


m^"K\\ 


No.  9/2. 


/. 


>' 


Number  9  is  a  cut  of  the  "toe  out"  foot,  the 
''Icnee  banger.^'  The  position  of  the  bones  forming 
the  articulation  are  shown  here,  clearly  proving  that 
when  it  is  disturbed  at  the  base  it  interferes  with  the 
whole  system  of  joints  throughout  the  entire  leg,  and 
that  it  is  the  faulty  position  of  the  foot,  in  its  toeing 
out  propensity,  that  gives  the  inward  slant  to  the  leg 
and  makes  the  elbow  cling  in  close  to  the  body,  just 
the  contrary  to  that  of  the  "  toe  in  "  foot  as  shown  in 
cut  No.  11.  Cut  No.  10  shows  the  surface  of  the  same 
foot  (No.  9)  and  the  manner  of  shoeing  it  and  direc- 
tions for  pairing.  Rasp  off  the  surface  of  wall  from 
1  to  2,  not  too  much,  from  2  to  3  considerable  may  be 
taken  off  with  the  rasp.  Nothing  off  from  3  to  5 — 
foot  surface  around  inside  toe— but  from  5  to  6  rasp 
off  to  make  heel  same  depth  as  outside.  If  these 
heels  are  not  of  sufficient  depth — as  explained  under 
Number  4— to  be  iu  proper  proportion,  do  not  rasp  off 
any  of  the  surface  wall  at  the  heels.  From  4  to  4, 
after  having  rasped  the  surface  as  already  directed, 
lessen  the  depth,  if  it  shall  require  it,  equally  all 
around  the  surface  from  4  at  about  the  quarter  around 
the  front  of  the  foot  surface  to  4  at  the  other  quarter. 
Fit  the  shoe  even  with  the  wall  on  the  outside  from 
1  to  4,  snug,  inside  the  wall,from  4  to  3,  even  with  the 
wall  from  3  to  5  and  full  from  5  back  to  point  of  heel 
at  6.  Before  fitting  the  shoe,  the  foot  should  be  taken 
up  in  front  of  the  leg  and  the  protruding  outside  toe 
rasped  off  from  2  to  3  as  shown  in  cut  No.  9.  This 
should  be  done  each  time  the  animal  is  shod  until  that 
toe  gets  into  a  regular  state  of  growth  and  in  conform- 
ity to  the  inside  one  of  same  foot.  Rasp  the  outside 
of  the  wall  down  to  the  shoe  at  from  4  to  3,  but  do  not 
otherwise  rasp  the  wall  on  its  outside,  above  or  back 
of  the  clinches,  and  do  not  rasp  off  any  of  the  enamel 
to  make  the  foot  look  •'  puty." 

A  foot  may  "toe  out "  and  the  ankle  turn  in  badly 
from  a  different  cause  from  the  one  given  here, 
though  such  cases  are  indeed  very  rare.  The  "  toe 
in  "  foot  is  not  apt  to  be  produced— though  it  might 
possibly  assume  that  faulty  position— from  any  other 
cause  than  that  already  assigned  to  it.    The  toeing 

36 


out  of  the  foot,  the  author  has  seen  caused  by  its 
being  too  high  at  inside  heel  and  outside  toe,  and  not 
too  high  on  the  outside  of  the  foot  back  of  that  point, 
a  more  frequent  cause  of  the  faulty  position.  (See 
cut  No.  9%).  It  depends  entirely  what  angle  the 
first  bone  above  the  pedal  bone  assumes  as  a  result  of 
the  unbalanced  foot.  The  raising  of  the  inside  heel 
of  the  foot,  not  the  raising  of  the  surface  lay  of  the 
foot  with  some  artificial  appliance  so  that  it  shall  be 
deeper  by  including  it,  may,  and  most  generally  does, 
cant  the  smaller  pastern  or  coronary  bone  with  a 
decided  slant  towards  the  outside  line  of  the  limb;  per 
contra,  it  may  cant  it  so  that  it  will  have  a  most 
clearly  defined  inclination  to  the  inside  of  the  leg, 
making  the  foot  turn  out  at  the  toe  ("  toe  out ")  while 
with  the  other  position  of  the  coronary  or  lower 
pastern  bone  it  would  certainly  '^toe  in."  The  cus- 
tomary way  of  shoeing  the  toeing  out,  knee-hitting 
foot  is  to  rasp  off  the  outside  of  the  wall  around 
inside  toe  and  fit  the  shoe  snug  around  the  foot  at 
that  point,  and  fit  it  full  around  the  outside  of  the 
foot.  This  is  all  wrong,  for  it  throws  the  foot  out  of 
balance  and  will  assist  in  keeping  up  the  wrong 
position  of  it,  for  the  Incorrect  articulation  that 
causes  the  trouble  will  continue,  will  in  fact,  grow  to 
be  more  emphasized  in  its  errors  of  action,  causing 
serious  trouble  to  the  joints,  tendons  and  muscles,  and 
will  cause  the  foot  to  wind  in  more  than  ever  towards 
the  opposite  leg. 


37 


X_  .  .  >  ••  "Si 


No.  13 

8S 


Number  11.  A  cut  of  the  "toe  in"  foot.  This 
faulty  action  is  just  as  fatiguing  to  the  animal  as  the 
"  toe  out "  foot,  but  it  is  rarely  thought  of  because 
neither  leg  is  interfered  with  at  any  point,  by  the 
action  of  the  foot  of  the  opposite  one  coming  against 
it.  This  foot  requires  a  preparation  for  the  shoe 
almost  the  opposite  of  the  "toe  out"  foot.  The 
surface  wall  should  be  rasped  down  from  1  all  around 
the  inside  of  the  wall  of  the  foot  to  2  on  outside  toe  as 
marked,  see  cut  No.  12.  The  foot  should  be  taken  in 
front  of  the  leg  by  the  smith  and  the  outside  of  the 
wall  at  the  inside  toe  rasped  off  to  match  the  outside 
one,  as  shown  on  cut  No.  11  from  2  to  3.  The  shoe 
should  be  fitted  full  from  1  to  3,  snug  inside  the  wall 
from  3  to  2,  and  full  from  2  to  4  and  follow  the  line  of 
the  wall  from  4  back  to  point  of  heel,  as  shown  on  cut 
No.  12. 

Number  13  is  a  cut  of  the  wide  foot,  about  as  wide, 
or  wider,  as  it  is  long  on  its  surface  lay.  This  is  a 
weak  foot  and  the  wall,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  separated 
from  the  sole.  Many  people  say  a  foot  cannot  be  too 
broad  or  too  wide  ;  they  are  mistaken,  it  can,  and  here 
is  an  evidence  of  it.  Sucti  feet  are  usually  found  to  be 
broad  on  the  ground  surface  but  narrow  and  tight  at 
the  coronet,  a  condition  that  causes  an  impoverished 
growth  of  the  wall,  and  it  is  evident  such  is  the  case, 
for  the  wall  of  such  feet  will  usually  be  found  to  be 
thin  as  also  brittle.  In  such  a  foot  that  discoloration 
in  the  sole  called  ''corns"  will  be  often  discernable 
and  it  arises  from  the  same  cause  as  described  under 
the  article  on  "  Corns  "  which  see.  The  proper  manner 
of  shoeing  this  foot  is  to  fit  the  shoe  evenly  under  the 
wall  all  around,  except  to  have  it  a  trifle  full  at  the 
heels,  if  they  shall  be  found  to  have  become  curled  in- 
ward somewhat— not  an  infrequent  condition  to  be  met 
with  in  such  feet— knock  a  clip  on  the  shoe  inside  and 
outside  at  the  quarters — or  at  the  broadest  part  of  the 
foot  and  this  is  not  invariably  at  exactly  what  are 
designated  as  the  quarters — at  points  designated  by 
space  from  1  to  2  and  1  to  2,  and  have  tlie  last  nails  at 
the  back  of  the  shoes,  carried  well  back  towards  the 
heels— just  the  opposite  to  that  prescribed  for  placing 

39 


No.  U. 
of  the  nails  in  the  shoe  of  the  one  on  cut  Number  14. 
After  the  shoe  is  nailed  to  the  foot  and  before  the 
smith  releases  the  foot,  he  should  hammer  these  clips 
to  the  wall  so  they  can  get  a  firm  grip.  This  manner 
of  fitting  the  shoe  to  such  a  foot  will  hold  it  together 
at  the  bottom,  giving  it  increased  supporting  strength 
and  it  will  also  loosen  it  at  the  coronet,  allowing  free 
circulation  of  blood,  therefore  a  healthier  state  of 
growth,  with  the  result  of  a  stronger  wall  and  an  im- 
proved condition  of  foot  generally.  Such  a  foot  should 
be  shod  in  this  manner,  for.  say  about  two  to  three 
months— unless  it  shows  marked  improvement  in  a 
less  time— when  it  can  be  shod,  most  likely,  like  any 
other  foot.  Always  use  a  shoe  of  equal  thickness 
from  heel  to  heel  for  such  a  foot. 

Number  14  is  a  cut  of  a  contracted  foot-  Most  gen- 
erally the  heels  of  such  a  foot  will  be  found  to  be 
entirely  too  deep,  they  should  be  lowered  to  the 
proper  proportion  of  height,  as  directed  in  the  meas- 
urements given  in  the  explanation  of  cut  No.  4.  This 
will  enable  the  bones  to  settle  back  to  their  proper 

40 


resting  place  and  relieve  the  tightened  condition  at 
the  coronet.  Lessen  the  depth  of  the  foot  in  front  if 
out  of  proportion.  Now  then,  take  the  knife — cut 
given  in  this  work— and  clean  out  the  commissures, 
that  is,  run  this  knife  back  from  the  point  at  the  frog 
designated  by  ISTo.  1,  1,  carry  the  back  of  the  knife 
close  up  against  the  frog,  back  along  its  entire  length 
to,  and  through,  between  it  and  the  walls  at  the 
heels,  cut  down  perpendicular  in  this  way  until  the 
sole  under  the  point  of  the  knife  along  the  line  of  the 
frog  will  give  to  a  pressure  from  it  (the  point  of  the 
knife).  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  cut  through  at 
any  point,  but  this  stubborn  upper  growth  of  horn 
must  be  weakened  so  that  it  will  not  possess  strength 
enough  to  push  up  into  the  vital  part  of  the  foot  and 
cause  discomfort  to  the  animal  at  every  step ;  much 
as  it  would  be  to  a  man  walking  on  the  points  of  the 
nails  of  his  boot  heels  that  had  pushed  up  through 
the  inner  sole  and  were  pressing  their  points  into  his 
foot  heel. 

The  shoe  must  be  fitted  as  shown :  even  with  the 
wall  all  around  the  front  of  the  foot  from  3  to  3,  full, 
outside  of  the  wall,  from  3  to  2  and  3  to  2.  Have  the 
shoes,  from  about  at  3, 3,  back  to  point  of  heels  beveled, 
slightly,  on  the  foot  surface,  towards  the  outside  (the 
natural  inclination  of  the  smith  in  hammering  the 
shoes  at  the  anvil,  seems  to  be  to  get  the  bevel  towards 
the  inside,  the  author  has  often  noticed  this),  this 
will  give  the  foot  a  chance  to  expand,  slightly,  each 
time  the  foot  strikes  the  ground  and  will  therefore 
help  to  get  them  into  a  better  habit  of  growth,  as 
nature  can  now  assert  herself  and  help  to  open  this 
foot  out  at  the  heels.  The  nails  should  not  be  driven 
back  any  farther  towards  the  heels  than  designated 
in  the  cut,  the  heel  then  can  have  nothing  to  bind  it 
and  prevent  it  from  opening,  as  it  will,  when  the 
weight  is  placed  on  it.  Nature  will  do  the  rest  and 
no  artificial  spreaders  are  either  necessary  or  useful. 


41 


No.  15. 

Number  15.  This  cut  is  a  pretty  good  likeness  of  the 
fore  feet  of  ''Jay-Eye-See;'  2.06 34,  and  ''Direct^'  2.05^. 
when  the  author  first  t^ok  them  in  hand  to  shoe.  This 
is  a  characteristic  foot  of  the  family  that  those  two 
horses  are  sprung  from, for  they  are  Uncle  (Jay-Eye-See) 
and  Nephew  (Direct).  Jay-Eye-See  being  by  Dictator, 
brother  to  Dexter,  Mr.  Bonner^s  great  horse— and  he 
was  lame  when  Mr.  Bonner  bought  him— and  Direct 
by  Director,  also  a  son  of  Dictator.  The  author  says 
a  characteristic  foot  of  the  family,  so  it  is.  That 
family  had  small  feet— supposedly  an  inheritance 
from  the  Star  mare,  the  dam  of  Dexter,  Dictator, 
etc.— but  really  good  feet,  and  they  required  a  great 
deal  of  care  to  keep  them  from  becoming  contracted, 
and  when  once  they  got  to  be  wrong,  it  was  an  awful 
job  to  get  them  back  again,  for  they  were  hardy  and 
unyielding.  The  author  remembers  well  the  trouble 
he  had  to  get  the  feet  of  Jay-Eye-See  started  to  grow- 
ing, the  tightness  around  the  coronet  was  such  that 
it  seemed  as  though  the  hide  had  grown  tight  to  the 
bones,  but  it  finally  yielded  and  the  cast-iron,  clever, 
splendid  little  fellow,  (gamey  and  perfect  in  disposi- 
tion) got  to  having  pretty  good  feet.  The  author  did 
not  have  so  much  to  do  with  Direct^  he  was  a  young 
horse  about  6  years  it  seems,  and  his  feet  yielded  to 
treatment  more  readily  than  the  older  one,  so  that  he 
only  shod  him  twice,  the  second  shoeing  being  only  a 

42 


few  days  before  he  was  driven  to  his  record  and  he 
has  been  retired  to  the  stud  ever  since. 

The  dotted  lines  running  down  the  front  line  of 
leg  to  floor  are  to  show  more  particularly  the  position 
of  the  foot— as  regarding  its  angle  to  the  leg— of 
Direct  more  than  of  Jay-Eye-See,  for  the  latter's 
pastern  was  not  quite  so  badly  on  the  slant,  though 
there  was  not  much  difference.  The  latter  straight- 
ened up  from  this  position  so  that  his  foot  became  to 
be  in  quite  proper  angle  to  the  limb,  more  so  than  did 
Direct's  for  he  was  under  the  charge  of  the  author  as 
to  shoeing  for  about  3  months,  whereas  he  supervised 
the  shoeing  of  Direct  but  twice,  3  weeks  intervening 
between  the  two  shoeings. 


No.  IT. 


43 


No.  27. 


No.  28. 


No.  Sa. 


Number  16.  This  cut  shows  the  position  of  the 
bones  in  forming  the  faulty  articulation  caused  by  an 
extremely  deep  heel— yet  with  a  little  more  depth  at 
front  of  foot  than  is  proper— and  showing  that  the 
angle  was  kept  pretty  true  until  it  came  to  the  joint 
formed  by  the  cannon  and  the  upper  pastern  bone. 
At  this  point  the  proper  angle  was  lost  and  the  result 
is  a  case  of  "  Knee  Sprung."  This  is  one  of  the  three 
different  causes  that  will  be  shown  here  for  a  ''  Knee 
Sprung"  formation.  As  said  before,  just  which  way 
the  cant  of  the  misplaced  bones  slant  can  be  noticed 
from  the  positions  of  any  of  the  joints  that  "  are  out 
of  whack."  Putting  this  foot  back  to  its  proper 
proportions  so  that  the  articulation  can  be  made  to  be 
smooth  and  frictionless,  as  it  can,  will  give  nature 
a  chance  to  remedy  the  faulty  action  and  the  leg  will 
come  back  to  its  normal  condition  again.  The  author 
has  straightened  badly  "Knee  Sprung"  legs  on 
horses  as  old  as  15  to  17  years,  and  had  them  keep 
strong  and  straight  in  their  limbs,  and  it  can  be 
learned  from  these  pages  how  easily  it  is  of  accom- 
plishment. 

Number  17.  Exhibits  another  form  of  foot  found 
on  the  "  knee  sprung "  animal.  The  raising  of  the 
front  of  the  pedal  bone  gives  a  backward  cant  to  the 
smaller  pastern,  or  coronary  bone,  which  causes  an 
improper  articulation  all  through  the  succeeding 
joints  to  the  knee,  and  it  (the  knee)  will  be  uncom- 
fortable in  its  action  also.  The  pedal  bone  is  thrown 
out  of  position  by  the  unwarranted  depth  of  the  front 
of  the  foot  in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  the  heels. 
Also  number  22  is  still  another  form;  the  toe  is  not 
deep  enough  in  comparison  to  the  great  depth  at  the 
heels  and  the  first  articulation  is  seriously  incorrect, 
creating  trouble  through  the  succeeding  ones.  The 
ankle  joint  in  this  case  is  quite  likely,  also,  to  be 
seriously  involved. 

These  illustrations,  like  that  also  of  No.  20,  are 
given  to  show  that  the  improper  position  of  the  pedal 
bone  is  productive  of  many  and  varied  faulty  articula- 
tions, and  that  the  effect  of  such  on  the  first  and  suc- 
ceeding articulations,  is  not  the  same  in  all  cases. 

45 


No.  20 


No.  33. 


This  last,  number  20,  shows  the  ankle  to  be  seriously 
affected  instead  of  the  knee,  while  the  foot  is  of  very 
similar  form  to  that  of  cut  number  22,  wherein  the 
knee  joint  is  afflicted.  These  difficulties  are  all  easily 
overcome,  and  the  articulation  can  be  made  smooth 
and  frictionless  by  following  the  directions  for  form 
of  foot,  given  in  the  description  under  number  4, 
which  see.  Don't  use  irregular  thickness  of  iron  to 
overcome  these  defects,  except  in  rare  cases  and  as 
directed  in  the  paragraph,  "Balancing  the  Foot  with 
Rasp,  not  Shoe,'"  which  study  carefully. 


46 


No.  19. 


No.  21. 


47 


No.  33. 


Number  19  shows  the  form  of  foot  most  frequently 
found  on  the  elbow  hitter,  though  numbers  21  and  23 
are  also  forms  that  will  create  this  bad  action  but  not 
so  frequently  as  number  19.  The  enlargement  at  the 
ankle  on  number  23  shows  one  of  the  very  frequent 
results  of  the  use  of  toe  or  side  weights,  for  they  force 
the  animal  to  an  action  not  warranted  by  the  condi- 
tion of  the  articulation.  19  and  21  are  the  sort  of  fore 
feet  usually  found  on  the  forger,  and  scalping  is  fre- 
quently caused  by  them,  though  in  the  case  of  scalp- 
ing the  hind  feet  also  are  often  found  to  be  at  fault. 
The  primary  cause  of  the  foot  getting  up  to  and  inter- 
fering with  the  elbow  is  this:  the  extra  exertion  of  the 
flexor  tendon  required  to  flex  this  long  toe,  is  such, 
that  when  the  foot  does  leave  the  ground,  it  does  so 
with  great  force  and  rapidity  of  action;  it  is,  conse- 
quently, by  this  intense  pull  on  it,  carried  higher  than 
it  would  be,  if  flexed  with  the  ease  of  the  foot  of  pro- 
per proportion  and  smooth  articulation,  and  which 
would  leave  the  ground  with  an  easy  and  pleasing 
action  of  the  flexors.  The  author  has  cured  this 
habit,  arising  from  such  a  foot  as  shown  by  number 
19,  by  lessening  the  depth  of  the  front  of  the  foot,  with 
the  rasp  on  the  surface  of  the  wall  and  by  also  using 
the  rasp  around  the  outside  of  the  wall  on  the  front  of 
the  foot,  removing  the  elongated  toe;  after  having  thus 
prepared  the  foot,  he  would  adjust  to  it  a  shoe  of 
equal  thickness  from  heel  to  heel,  unless  the  heels 
were  too  low  in  proportion,  in  which  case  he  would 
put  slight  calkins  on  the  heels  of  the  shoe  to  increase 
the  depth,  (of  shoe  and  foot)  to  proper  angle,  until  the 
heels  shall  have  time  to  grow  down  to  requisite 
depth,  then  use  a  plain  shoe.  The  heel  calkins  would 
assist  in  resting  the  joints,  tendons  and  muscles, 
though  they  would  not  change  the  faulty  articulation, 
for  that  could  be  done  only  by  growing  the  foot  into 
proper  proportion  and  angle. 

Number  24  exhibits  a  not  infrequent  badly  formed 
hind  foot — contracted — as  is  usually  the  case  with  the 
hind  foot,  contrary  to  that  most  frequent  with  the 
fore  feet— on  the  outside.  For  this  foot  fit  the  shoe 
even  with  the  w^all  all  around  from  inside  heel  to 

"48 


No.  24. 


outside  quarter,  and  from  there  back  to  point  of  heel, 
full  but  straight  (the  inside  of  the  web  of  each  heel 
should  measure  about  equal  distance  from  the  crevice 
in  frog  at  heel),  the  shoe  must  not  be  curled  outward  on 
the  outside  at  heel^  and  must  not  extend  back  at  the 
heel  beyond  the  surface  lay  of  the  ivall  of  the  foot  (unless 
it  is  necessary  to  use  scalpers,  when  both  heels  should 
extend  back  far  enough  to  hold  the  strap  usually  used), 
and  the  shoe  should  not  extend  back  further  on  one 
side  of  the  foot  at  the  heel  than  on  the  other.  If  this 
foot  is  of  proper  proportion  of  depth  at  front  and  back 
adjust  a  plain  shoe  of  even  thickness  from  heel  to 
heel;  if,  however,  that  most  frequent  fault — more 
particularly  noticeable  on  the  hind  feet—ot  having  the 
heels  of  not  sufficient  depth  shall  be  the  condition  of 
them,  then,  and  then  only,  turn  up  a  slight  heel  calkin, 
but  do  not  use  them  when  the  heels  of  the  feet  are  of 
required  depth. 

49 


No.  25. 


No.  26. 


No.  30. 


:N'umbers  30  and  31  show  cuts  of  a  shoe  for 
the  fore  foot  which  the  author  has  used  with 
great  success.  This  is  the  only  irregular  shaped 
shoe  he  ever  used,  under  any  circumstances,  for 
he  does  not  believe  in  the  use  of  them,  has 
been  successful  in  his  practice  without  employing 
them  and  he  cannot  see  the  utility  of  using  shoes 
that  are  at  variance  with  the  proper  level  tread 
of  the  foot,  except  that  he  does  invariably  have  the 
front  of  the  shoe  around  the  toe  on  the  ground  surface 
rasped  off  about  as  much  as  a  ten  days'  use  would 
lessen  the  depth  at  the  toe  of  the  shoe;  he  does  this  to 
save  the  animal  that  much  wear  and  tear  of  tendons, 
muscles  and  joints  necessary  to  produce  this  lessened 
toe  at  surface.  Such  a  shoe  is  shown  In  Nos.  25  and  26 
and  it  will  be  seen  to  be  slightly  drawn  from  about  last 
nail  hole  back  to  point  of  heel.  This  is  the  proper  shoe 
to  use  on  sound, well-balanced  feet  at  both  ends,before 
and  behind,  except  the  toe  need  not  be  worn  off  on 
ground  surface  for  hind  shoes,for  there  the  full  form  of 
shoe  is  needed  to  catch  the  ground  well,  to  assist  the 
propelling  of  the  body  and  the  load.  These  shoes 
should  be  made  of  steel  not  over  five-eighths  {%)  of  an 
inch  wide.  But  to  return  to  No.  30.  This  shoe  is  for 
use  on  a  horse  for  speed,  or  for  road  driving,  that  is 
afflicted  in  his  joints,  ankle  particularly,  as  also  some- 
what strained  in  his  muscles  and  tendons,  that  is, 
after  getting  his  fore  feet  trued  and  balanced  so  the 
cause  of  the  afflictions  to  joints,  tendons  and  muscles 
is  removed,  this  shoe  will  be  found  to  be  a  resting 
shoe,  as  one  might  say,  during  the  healing  process 
nature  is  indulging  in,  after  the  cause  of  incorrect 
articulation  has  been  removed. 

The  artist  failed  to  show,  plainly,  the  worn  off  toe  at  surface 
In  26.  ' 


51 


p 


52 


Farrier's  Knife. 

Number  29  is  a  cut  of  a  farrier's  knife.  This  knife 
is  double  edged,  sharpened  the  entire  length  of  the 
blade  on  one  side  and  only  about  half  the  length  on 
the  other,  as  shown  by  cut ;  it  is  especially  made  to 
use  in  cleaning  out  the  commissures  in  a  contracted 
foot,  as  described  and  directed  to  be  done,  in  treating 
the  contracted  foot  number  14.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  turn  at  the  point  is  a  sharp  one,  and  that  the 
width  over  all  at  point  is  very  slight ;  it  is  made  so 
for  a  purpose,  and  that  is,  so  that  it  shall  make  only 
a  narrow  cleaning  out  of  the  commissures.  The  idea 
of  cleaning  out  these  objectionable  parts  of  the 
deformed  foot  is  to  weaken  them,  so  they  cannot 
exert  a  harmful  pressure  upward  into  the  vital  part 
of  the  foot,  as  already  explained.  It  is  not  necessary, 
nor  would  it  be  productive  of  the  desired  improve- 
ment, to  dig  down  into  them  with  a  knife  broader  on 
the  point  than  the  one  here  shown,  for  before  the 
ordinary  farrier's  knife,  with  its  broader  point,  had 
reached  down  into  them  far  enough  to  give  the  re- 
quired relief  the  wide  point  would  have  broken 
through  on  each  side  and  the  blood  would  flow.  This 
must  be  avoided:  the  commissures  must  be  weakened, 
but  they  must  not  be  cut  through  so  that  blood  would 
flow.  The  author  can  furnish  such  a  knife,  upon 
application,  maAe  of  gO(bd,  well  iempered  s^el,  with 
leather  di^de  case,  hardNvood  handle  of  protoer  size 
and  shapK  for  $l50,  sen\  to  anyVddress,  postage 
paid,  on  receipt  oX  price  \n  anythVng  but  postage 
stamps.  The\handiy  is  one  inch  longer  than  cut, 
blade  same  length  as  shown. v.^^^^'^i^i^i-'ir^^  >^?^^ 


53 


Draft  Horses. 

Cut  numbers  27  and  28  show  a  proper  form  of  shoe 
for  use  on  Draft  Horses'  feet.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
the  calkins  are  not  as  deep  as  those  usually  used  and 
of  course  will  not  wear  as  long,  but  the  saving  of 
strain  to  the  animal  with  the  result  of  his  being  better 
able  to  more  fully  utilize  his  powers,  with  the  much 
lessened  chances  of  his  becoming  strained  and  lamed 
will  more  than  compensate  for  the  tew  dollars  of  extra 
cost  in  re-calking  his  shoes  a  little  oftener  than  has 
been  the  custom.  The  shoes  should  not  be  made  so 
heavy,  about  one-half  to  three-fifths  of  the  weight  of 
iron  usually  used  will  be  found  suflScient  and  if  the 
shoes  are  made  narrower,  never  over  one  inch  in 
width,  but  of  usual  thickness,  they  will  wear  just  as  long 
and  the  animal's  joints,  tendons  and  muscles  will  be 
saved  much  wear  and  jar  in  consequence.  The  nails 
should  be  driven  at  the  places  in  the  shoe  as  on  cut, 
the  last  nail  never  further  back  towards  the  heel  than 
shown,  except  in  the  excessively  broad  and  conse- 
quently weak  formation  of  foot,  and  directions  for  the 
placing  of  them  in  shoes  for  such  a  foot,  as  also  the 
clips  necessary,  are  described  in  the  directions  for 
shoeing  the  foot,  shown  in  cut  number  13,  which  see. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  and  serious  faults  in  the 
preparation  of  the  feet  of  our  Draft  Horses  is  that  of 
allowing  them  to  become  too  deep  in  the  front— often 
also,  too  long  at  the  toes — and  of  too  little  depth  at 
the  heels.  This  fault  is  more  frequently  noticeable  on 
the  hind  than  on  the  fore  feet  and  causes  a  great 
strain  to  all  of  the  joints,  tendons  and  muscles  of  the 
propelling  power.  Study  carefully  the  discriptions  of 
proportion  as  given  under  No.  4,  for  they  are  to 
govern  in  the  preparation  of  the  feet  of  all  horses, 
and  for  whatever  service  used. 


54 


Numbers  32  and  33  show  cuts  ot  a  bind  shoe  for  use 
more  particularly  on  the  race  track,  for  speed  purposes, 
though  it  will  be  found  to  be  useful  for  road  driving.  By 
examining  this  shoe  carefully  it  will  be  observed  that 
while  there  is  a  deepening  of  the  shoe  at  the  toe, 
forming  as  it  were,  a  toe  calkin,  whereby  the  animal 
obtains  a  firm  grip  on  the  ground  at  the  propelling 
end,  where  'tis  needed,  the  shoe  is  beveled  off  from 
the  front  part,  so  that,  unlike  the  calkin,  if  the  foot 
should  interfere  with  the  front  foot  it  would  not 
"cut  the  quarter"  as  'tis  called,  at  any  time,  but 
would  simply  pound  it  slightly  and  slide  off;  at 
same  time,  this  formation  of  toe  gives  the  full  benefit 
of  a  calkin,  without,  as  expressed,  any  of  the  disad- 
vantages attaching  to  the  latter.  It  will  be  noticed 
also  that  the  heel  calkins  are  turned  up  only  to  balance 
the  shoe  so  that  it  shall  be  of  same  depth,  or  thickness 
at  heels  as  at  front  of  shoe.  Friends  of  the  author 
have  informed  him  that  they  consider  this  shoe  for 
hind  foot  the  best  speeding  shoe  ever  put  onto  a  horse— 
and  certainly  superior  to  any  they  have  ever  used. 
Many  of  his  friends  are  "stuck"  on  the  front  shoe 
number  31  also,  for  the  track  particularly,  as  owing  to 
the  very  slight  ground  surface,  the  foot  gets  an  easy 
blow  and  then  again  the  resistance  is  slight,  enabling 
the  foot  to  be  flexed  with  the  utmost  ease.  A  shoe  of 
this  kind  for  a  horse  of  15^  hands  will  weigh  about  9 
to  10  ounces;  (they  can  be  made  heavier  yes,  and  can 
be  made  lighter)  but  any  horse  properly  balanced  in 
his  articulation  should  be  able  to  trot  square  and  true 
with  that,  yes,  with  much  less  weight. 

"^heTrtist  made  a  mistake  in  number  33,  and  tlie  drawing  does 
not  show  the  calkin-like  shape  at  toe. 


55 


Hind  Feet  Interfering. 

When  the  ankle  of  hind  leg  is  interfered  with  by 
the  foot  of  the  opposite  leg,  it  is  because  the  foot  of 
the  leg  on  which  is  the  afflicted  ankle  is  wrong,  it  is 
too  high  on  the  inside  from  the  heel  to  the  toe.  This 
gives  the  leg  the  appearance  of  "  bow  leg"  (the  con- 
trary condition,  too  deep  on  the  outside  of  foot,  pro- 
duces the  ''cow  hocked"  formation)  and  the  slant  of 
the  foot  makes  it  wind  in  to  find  a  comfortable  lay  on 
the  ground  in  its  action,  with  the  consequence, 
naturally,  that  it  thus  gets  in  the  way  of  the  opposite 
foot  in  passing  and  is  therefore  hit  by  that  foot.  The 
same  when  both  ankles  are  interfered  with,  both 
feet  are  too  deep  inside.  Now  it  is  foolish  and  not 
productive  of  good  results — for  the  sought  for  remedy 
cannot  be  obtained  by  resorting  to  such  means— to 
build  up  the  height  of  the  outside,  or  lower  side  of  the 
foot,  by  the  use  of  a  shoe  thickened  on  that  side, 
doing  this  will  wrench  the  ankle  joint.  The  proper 
way  to  do  is  to  lower  with  the  rasp  the  surface  of  the 
side  that  is  too  high,  so  that  it  will  match  exactly  in 
height  the  opposite  of  that  same  foot,  and  adjust  a 
shoe  of  equal  thickness  from  heel  to  heel,  except,  of 
course,  where  calkins  are  employed  and  they  should 
be  placed  on  the  shoe  as  directed  under  the  head  of 
Calkins,  How  to  Proportion,  which  see. 


Why  Hind  Slices  Wear  Irregularly. 

When  the  shoes  on  the  hind  feet  wear  away  more 
rapidly  on  the  outside  toe — a  frequent  fault  with  our 
trotters  and  pacers — balance  the  foot  and  fit  the  shoe 
snug  at  the  outside  toe,  full— but  a  straight  shoe,  no 
curling  outward — at  the  outside  heel  and  even  with 
the  wall  all  the  rest  of  the  way  around  to  the  inside 
heel.  This  will  assist  in  balancing  the  action,  for  the 
surplus  iron  at  the  wearing  point  will  be  lessened, 
therefore  less  to  strike  the  ground  and  gradually  as 
the  foot,  thus  assisted  in  its  action,  becomes  truer  in 
its  motion,  then  the  shoe  can  be  fitted  evenly  all 
around  and  will  wear  evenly. 

56 


Growth  of  Hind  Feet. 

It  is  a  not  infrequent  trouble  with  the  hind  feet 
that  they  get  to  growing  outward  at  the  outside  quar- 
ter, forming  a  wing  thereon  and  thus  growing  away 
from  the  proper  line  of  the  limb,  and  therefore  not 
properly  supporting  it.  This  outside  wing  should  be 
gradually  rasped  off  and  the  shoe  fitted  snug,  close 
inside  of  the  wall  under  this  irregular  growth  and  a 
shade  full  along  the  inside  from  toe  back  to  heel. 
This  will  weaken  the  support  of  the  overgrown  side 
of  the  foot  and  strengthen  the  weaker  side,  thus 
assisting  nature  to  cure  this  irregularity  of  growth, 
with  the  result  of  aiding  the  foot  in  its  proper  sup- 
port of  the  limb. 

Balance  the  Foot  with  Kasp,  not  Shoe. 

When  a  foot  is  out  of  balance,  one  side  higher— or 
deeper  as  some  may  choose  to  call  it— than  the  other, 
the  lessened  depth  must  not  be  increased  by  the 
appliance  of  iron  to  raise  that  side  to  the  depth  of  the. 
deeper,  but  the  deeper  side  must  be  rasped  down  on 
the  surface  of  the  wall  to  match  the  depth  of  the 
lesser,  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  improper 
position  of  the  bones  in  the  foot  creating  the  incor- 
rect articulation  cannot  be  changed  to  a  proper  one, 
except  by  adjusting  the  ^'balance'''  of  the  foot  itself. 
External  appliances,  such  as  increased  thickness  of 
shoe  at  one  point  or  another  will  not  and  cannot 
remedy  the  evil.  If,  however,  the  deepest  side  of  the 
foot  is  not  in  itself  deep  enough,  in  comparison,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  stand  paring  to  obtain  the  required 
depth,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  opposite  side  is 
altogether  too  much  lessened  in  depth,  then  a  thick- 
ened shoe  may  be  used  until  the  feet  shall  be  grown 
down  to  sufficient  depth  to  obviate  the  difficulty  by 
the  use  of  the  rasp  only.  These  instructions  apply 
more  particularly  to  the  back  part  of  the  feet,  though 
of  course  irregularities  in  depth  at  any  point  on  the 
foot  must  be  remedied  by  the  rasp  used  on  the  surface 
where  possible,  and  not  by  the  use  of  thickened  shoes 
except  as  mentioned. 

57 


''Hitching,"   Striiighalt  and    ''Cross  Firing." 

These  three  faults,  "Hitching,"  Stringhalt  and 
"Cross  Firing,"'  are  all  caused  by  unbalanced  feet, 
therefore,  an  irregular  and  improper  working  of  the 
joints,  or  the  muscles,  or  the  tendons,  sometimes, 
and  in  fact  quite  frequently,  all  three  may  be  in- 
volved. Hitching  can  almost  invariably  be  cured  in 
one  shoeing;  the  author  has  never  failed  to  make  the 
"hitch"  disappear  with  one  preparation  of  the  foot,  of 
which  he  has  testimonials  establishing  the  fact. 
Stringhalt  is  not  as  easily  cured,  but  in  all  the  cases 
that  have  come  under  the  personal  treatment  of  the 
author,  he  has  cured  each  and  every  one  of  them,  and 
he  has  invariably  found  the  cause  to  be  an  unbalanced 
foot  (with  excessive  tightness  at  the  coronet,  easily 
corrected)  consequently  incorrect  articulation. 

"Cross  Firing"  is  much  more  easily  cured  than 
Stringhalt.  In  the  case  of  one  (or  both)  hind  toot 
winding  in,  out  of  a  straight  and  proper  line,  the 
cause  can  always  be  located  invariably,  in  an  un- 
balanced foot,  and  the  instructions  contained  herein 
will  enable  anyone  of  ordinary  intelligence  to  correct 
the  fault,  in  fact  all  three  of  the  above,  as  well  as 
numerous  others  of  the  many  faults  of  incorrect 
balance  to  be  met  with,  and  to  do  so  without  the  aid 
of  any  mechanical  appliances  whatever. 

Another,  though  not  so  frequent  a  fault  as  "Hitch- 
ing" and  "Cross  Firing"  is  that  of  twisting  the  hind 
leg  or  legs,  that  is,  turning  the  heel  of  the  foot  out- 
ward by  twisting  over  on  outside  toe.  This  also  is 
caused  by  an  unbalanced  foot  and  can  easily  and 
surely  be  stopped,  as  the  author  also  has  learned  from 
his  own  personal  experience  in  stopping  it,  generally 
in  one  preparation  and  shoeing  of  the  foot,  using  only 
a  plain  shoe,  as  he  always  does. 

Runner. 

Balancing  the  Runner  is  accomplished  in  the  same 
manner  as  that  prescribed  for  the  Trotter  and  Pacer, 
notwitlistanding  they  wear  plates  and  not  shoes. 
The  author  has  balanced  several  of  them,  though  he 
has  not  been  fortunate  enough  to  form  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  owners  of  any  of  the  more  celebrated  ones, 

58 


going  at  that  gait,  as  he  has  tliose  owning  such  as  go  at 
the  trot  and  pace.  The  Runner  can  be  so  balanced  in 
his  feet  as  to  make  the  articulation  so  smooth  and 
frictionless,  the  action  therefore,  of  the  joints,  tendons 
and  muscles  so  equalized,  that  it  will  be  impossible 
for  a  "break-down"  to  occur,  except  by  the  rarest  and 
most  infrequent  of  accidents.  He  may  be  run  to  a 
standstill,  he  may  be  jumped  over  hurdles  and  ditches 
with  impunity,  but  he  cannot  "break  down",  for 
there  will  be  no  unequal  strain  on  the  joints,  tendons  or 
muscles,  the  primary  causes  of  all  '■'■break-downs^'. 

As  the  author  has  had  considerable  experience  in 
driving  horses,  covering  many  years,  he  has  been 
repeatedly  asked  questions  about  check  reins,  etc. 


The  above  cut  shows  a  checking  rig— partly  the 
invention  of  the  author — used  by  him  for  past  20 
years  on  different  horses  of  varied  dispositions  and 
with  satisfactory  results  in  all  cases.  They  could  all 
go  faster  and  steadier  than  with  any  other  manner  of 
checking.    It  gives  the  animal  "  a  fine  mouth."    It  is 

59 


the  best  by  all  means,  for  rigging  a  team  for  style 
and  comfort  of  driving.  While  this  arrangement 
gives  more  perfect  control  of  the  animal  in  case  of 
fright,  accident,  etc.,  it  is  at  no  time  oppressive  or  in 
the  least  annoying  to  him.  For  breaking  and  driving 
colts  it  is  invaluable. 

It  was  a  rig  exactly  like  this  that  the  great ' '  Alix"  wore 
when  she  made  the  world's  record,  2.03M,  and  after  the 
author  of  this  work  had  directed  the  preparation  and  shoe- 
ing of  her  feet. 


''Balancing-  the  Trotter." 

Copy  of  a  letter  written  by  the  author  and  published  in  the  Ameri- 
can Horse  Breeder  of  Boston. 

"  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor  asking  me  to  write  for  you  an 
article  on  the  above  subject.  I  will  try  to  give  you  some  points 
that  may  be  of  interest,  but  as  horses'  feet  differ  so  widely,  it 
would  take  a  volume  of  good  size  to  give  a  set  of  rules  that 
could  sufficiently  cover  the  many  types  of  different  feet,  so  that 
it  might  be  found  of  practical  benefit  to  owners  and  breeders, 
and  they  are  the  class  of  people  who  might  be  interested,  if  I  can 
command  attention  from  any  who  take  an  interest  in  the  horse 
and  how  to  balance  his  action.  Drivers  and  trainers  have  rai-ely 
any  use  for  information.  They  "  know  it  all,"  and  I  do  not 
write  for  their  edification. 

One  thing  to  start  with  is  that  1  never  use  any  peculiar  shoe 
or  any  artificial  mechanical  contrivance  to  balance  the  gait  of 
the  trotters.  I  do  all  my  work  in  the  way  of  balancing  on  the 
feet  themselves,  and  adjust  a  shoe  that  carries  out  perfectly 
that  balance,  for  pacers  as  well  as  trotters. 

1  notice  that  all  of  the  so-called  practical  horseshoers  explain 
how  to  cure  this  and  that  trouble  of  irregular  action  by  the  use 
of  some  sort  of  a  shoe,  made  in  an  irregular  manner.  Very  few 
of  the  designs  described  are  at  all  novel  or  new  to  me,  and  not  a 
single  one  of  them  is  fit  or  necessary  to  put  on  the  foot  of  a 
horse  in  order  to  correct  the  fault  It  is  sought  to  remedy. 

Strange  shoes  may  temporarily  change  the  action  of  the  knee 
hitter,  the  elbow  hitter,  the  forger,  the  scalper  and  other  wrong 
and  de\  iating  gaits,  but  they  will  not  cure  the  animal  of  any  of 
these  faults,  if  the  foot  that  offends  be  still  allowed  to  remain  in 
the  faulty  position  that  caused  the  irregularity  complained  of. 
Another  objection  to  the  use  of  such  inventions  is  that  most  of 
them  do  actual  harm  to  the  joints,  tendons  and  muscles  of  the 
animal.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  instinct  of  the  horse 
suggests  to  him  the  action  or  gait  that  is  the  easiest  for  him  to 
use,  and  such  he  will  invariably  employ. 

60 


Should  the  motion  be  wrong  and  not  in  proper  rhythm,  and 
the  animal  is  forced  to  adopt  by  the  use  of  mechanical  appli- 
ances any  other  line  of  action,  without  the  faulty  articulation 
being  corrected,  he  will  do  so  at  the  cost  of  injury  to  some  parts 
of  the  motor  power,  just  as  sure  as  it  is  true  that  the  sun  "do  rise 
and  set." 

In  my  younger  days  the  perfectly-proper  foot  for  all  horses 
was  one  that  on  its  surface  lay  would  make  an  almost  perfect 
circle,  barring  the  break  at  the  heel.  It  was  claimed  by  such 
people  as  Goodenough,  the  inventor  of  the  shoe  bearing  his 
name,  that  the  foot  should  be  as  broad  as  it  was  long.  At  the 
time  he  came  on  the  carpet,  about  30  years  ago,  high  heels  and 
short  toes  were  in  vogue  as  the  general  rule  for  the  front  feet 
for  the  light-harness  horse.  Yes,  in  fact,  for  all  horses  that  were 
shod.  Goodenough— and  I  knew  him  intimately— was  the  first 
man  at  that  time,  30  years  ago,  who  called  my  attention  to  horse- 
shoeing for  my  own  horses. 

His  whole  system  consisted  in  cutting  down  the  heels  to  get 
"frog  pressure."  He  knew  nothing  about  the  proper  proportion- 
ing of  the  foot.  He  also  knew  absolutely  nothing  about  what 
was  a  fair  proportion  of  depth  for  the  front  of  the  foot,  as  com- 
pared with  the  depth  of  the  hind  part  of  it.  and  that  was  why 
many  horses  became  lame  after  wearing  the  shoe  that  he 
invented.  The  fault  was  not  with  the  shoe,  for  that  has  its 
merits,  but  it  was  this  constant  hacking  away  at  the  heels  and 
leaving  the  front  of  the  feet  all  out  of  proportion  as  to  depth  and 
length. 

I  speak  of  this,  as  it  leads  up  to  the  practice  now  in  vogue. 
Almost  all  drivers  and  trainers  have  the  feet  of  their  trotting 
horses  too  long  and  too  deep  in  the  front  of  the  foot,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  height  or  depth,  whichever  term  may  seem  to  best 
convey  the  idea  intended,  at  the  heels.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
frequent  causes  of  unbalanced  gaits.  The  low-heel  trouble  is 
more  frequently  to  be  seen  on  the  hind  than  on  the  fore  feet, 
and  is  one  of  the  causes  of  crooked,  cow-hocked  legs,  which 
produce  curbs,  spavins,  etc.  Then  on  this  unbalanced  foot  is 
placed  that  most  nonsensical  and  absurd  thing,  it  is  not  worthy 
to  be  called  shoe,  the  long  outside  winged  heel  for  the  hind  feet, 
longer  than  the  foot  and  running  away  off  to  the  outside  like  a 
sled  runner.  This  contrivance,  coupled  with  the  unbalanced  foot 
on  which  it  is  placed,  has  made  more  lame  horses  behind  than 
most  any  and  all  other  contrivances  that  the  genius  of  man  has 
yet  devised. 

Why  put  on  such  a  thing?  What  is  it  for?  Why  put  this  wing 
on  the  shoe?  There  is  no  foot  where  it  is  put.  It  supports  (?) 
nothing;  it  is  only  in  the  way  and  gives  the  animal  an  unnatural 
tread  and  an  uncomfortable  one.  Why  put  iron  in  such  a  useless 
abundance  where  there  is  no  foot?  Don't  do  it.  There  are  feet 
and  feet.  The  old-fashioned  round  foot  spoken  of  was  a  weak 
one.  Many  times,  yes,  quite  frequently,  it  would  be  found  upon 
examination  of  the  bottom  of  the  foot  that  the  wall  had  separ- 
ated from  the  sole.    Widening  the  foot  out  this  way  caused  the 

walls  to  spread  apart  away  from  their  proper  position  as  a  means 

61 


of  support  to  tbe  pedal  bone,  consequently  the  main  support  to 
the  limb  was  weakened  and  the  principal  and  most  important 
articulation  seriously  interfered  with.  This  style  of  foot  was 
cultivated  most  frequently  for  the  fore  feet.  The  hind  ones  would 
be  lower  at  the  heels. 

la  shoeing  such  a  foot  the  shoe  should  follow  closely  the  wall 
from  heel  to  heel,  all  around,  and  at  the  quarters,  both  inside 
and  outside,  a  clip  should  be  struck  on  the  shoe  and  the  nails  al- 
lowed to  be  driven  well  back  toward  the  heels,  which  never  should 
be  allowed  in  a  foot  of  fairly  correct  proportions,  and  the  clips 
hammered  to  a  proper,  g-ood  resting  place  before  the  foot  is 
placed  on  the  floor  from  the  smith's  hands.  This^practice  of  shoe- 
ing such  feet  will  gradually  bring  them  together  more,  as  it 
were,  and  make  them  incline  to  a  healthier  proportion  of  growth, 
and  thus  will  the  support  be  regained  and  an  important  point  in 
balancing  the  trotter  be  gained  also. 

Horses  with  such  feet  as  described  for  the  fore  and  hind  ones 
will  be  found  standing  with  their  fore  feet  well  back  under  the 
girth  and  their  hind  ones  standing  under  their  loins.  Very  little 
space  will  be  noticeable  between  the  fore  and  hind  feet  on  the 
ground  lay  of  them.  In  old  times  this  used  to  be  "the  thing," 
It  used  to  be  remarked,  "  I  like  to  see  a  horse  stand  with  all  his 
four  feet  well  under  his  body." 

Now,  a  good  judge  of  horses  wishes  to  see  the  hind  legs  stand 
straight  down  under  the  quarters,  so  that  a  plummet  attached 
to  a  string  held  at  the  point  of  the  hock  will  make  the  string  lay 
against  the  back  part  of  the  leg,  all  the  way  down  to  the  fetlock 
joint.  When  a  horse, stands  this  way  not  much  fault  can  be 
found  with  the  "balance  of  the  trotter,"  as  far  as  his  hind  action 
is  concerned.  Then,  with  the  front  feet  in  proper  proportion 
and  angle,  the  leg  will  stand  plumb  and  straight  from  the 
shoulder  down,  and  not  with  the  feet  standing  back  under  the 
girth. 

The  only  way  to  "balance  the  trotter"  is  to  have  his  feet  truly 
balanced  and  in  proper  proportion  and  at  proper  angle  to  the 
limbs  they  support,  so  that  the  articulation  will  be  as  near  fric- 
tionless  as  possible.  With  this  condition  maintained  the 
animal's  instinctive  action  will  be  even  and  true,  with  a  perfect 
rhythm. 

The  fad  nowadays  with  nearly  all  drivers  and  trainers  is  the 
long  and  deep  foot  in  the  front  part  and  an  all-out-of -proportion, 
low  heel.  This  manner  of  proportioning  the  feet  is  ruining  our 
trotters  faster  than  we  can  raise  and  educate  them.  If  the 
smith  cannot  balance  the  foot  any  other  way,  let  him  measure  it 
with  a  set  compass,  so  that  he  may  be  enabled  to  have  one  side 
exactly  the  same  height  as  its  opposite  of  the  same  foot.  In 
this  way  one  of  the  most  important  points  in  "balancing  the 
trotter"  will  have  been  gained. 

Now  as  to  the  proportion  and  angle  of  the  foot  to  the  limb 

it  supports.    I  have  to  stop  here.    I  know  of  no  infallible  rule  to 

lay  down  for  this,  except  that  the  measurement  of  the  front  of 

the  foot    from  centre   at  the   coronet   to   the  surface  lay   of 

the  foot  should  be  about  65  per  cent,  of  that  of  the  depth  of  it, 

62 


measuring  from  the  same  point  at  coronet  back  along  an 
imaginary  line  drawn  straight  through  the  center  of  the  foot, 
from  the  point  of  commencement  at  the  coronet,  back  to  a  line 
drawn  across  the  heels,  and  the  judgment  of  the  intelligent 
owner  and  breeder  must  come  in  now  to  govern.  He  must  get 
the  foot  of  the  proper  depth  and  length  in  front  and  proper  depth 
at  the  heels,  so  that  to  his  eyes  it  shall  look  as  though  it  was  set 
under  the  limb  in  artistic  comfort. 

When  the  feet  are  apparently  well  balanced  and  in  proper 
proportion  and  angle  to  the  limbs,  i-asp  off  the  edge  of  the  wall 
at  surface  and  drive  the  horse  a  few  days  barefooted.  It  will  not 
hurt  him  or  hurt  his  feet,  for  the  feet  when  sound  and  healthy 
(if  the  soles  have  been  left  intact,  as  they  should  be)  do  not  need 
any  protection  of  iron  nailed  on  to  them,  it  matters  not  how  hard 
the  road-bed  may  be.  If  his  gait  is  smooth  and  even  at  the  trot 
without  shoes  you  have  got  him  balanced. 

Now,  then,  shoe  him  with  exactly  the  same  weight  of  iron  on 
each  of  the  four  feet.  That  is,  make  the  hind  shoes  of  the  same 
bar  of  steel  (it  is  better  than  iron  for  shoes  for  many  reasons) 
that  the  fore  ones  are  made  of.  Then  if  the  hind  feet  are  a  little 
smaller,  as  they  sometimes  are,  the  shoes  will  be  all  right.  Why 
should  you  put  more  weight  on  one  foot  than  on  the  other  if 
your  trotter  is  perfectly  balanced  in  his  gait  barefooted?  There 
is  no  reason  why  you  should  do  so,  and  I  have  balanced  a  great 
many  trotters  and  pacers  in  just  this  way,  and  always  success- 
fully. 

I  trued  and  balanced  the  feet  of  a  colt  recently  for  a  friend 
of  mine  near  Chicago.  This  colt  is  a  yearling,  a  good,  strong  one, 
speedy,  and  after  I  fixed  his  feet,  pure  gaited.  I  told  this  young 
man  not  to  put  any  shoes  on  him  at  all,  for  what  little  driving  I 
wished  him  to  give  him  he  would  not  need  them.  I  wanted  him 
walked,  and  walked  fast,  very  fast.  It  is  the  best  muscle- making 
exercise  that  can  be  given  to  a  horse  or  colt.  Well,  there  was  a 
smart  smith  down  at  this  place,  and  he  bet  he  could  shoe  this  colt 
so  that  he  would  pace. 

My  friend  had  implicit  confidence  in  my  ability  to  true  and 
balance  his  colts,  and  he  knew  also  that  all  their  irregularities  of 
gait  had  disappeared  entirely  after  I  had  done  so,  so  he  bet  the 
blacksmith,  and  how  do  you  suppose  he  shod  this  colt  so  as  to 
make  him  pace?  He  put  some  eight-ounce  shoes  on  the  hind 
feet  and  three-ounce  shoes  on  the  fore,  and  he  could  not  make 
him  do  anything  but  trot.  He  then  took  off  the  fore  shoes,  left 
his  fore  feet  bare,  and  still  kept  the  shoes  on  the  hind  feet,  and 
yet  he  would  do  nothing  but  trot. 

The  smith  paid  his  bet  and  gave  it  up,  but  he  said :    "That 

man  Hall  beats  anything  I  ever  saw.    I  never  saw  a  horse  before 

I  could  not  make  pace  by  shoeing  him  that  way."    He  couldn't 

this  one,  because  the  horse's  instinct,  which  guided  him  to  go  at 

the  easiest  gait,  demonstrated  to  him  that  that  gait  was  the  trot.  I 

have  always  claimed,  and  do  still  claim,  that  the  pacing  gait  is 

not  the  natural  one.    I  will  grant  that  the  instinct  of  action  at 

the  pacing  gait  may  be,  at  times,  inherited,   but  it  more  often 

comes  from  the  articulation  being  unbalanced.    The  reason  we 

63 


have  more  pacers  now  in  proportion  to  what  we  used  to  have  is 
simply  because  the  race  tracks  give  good  purses  for  them  to 
contend  for,  and  therefore  breeders  and  owners  do  not  try  to 
make  the  young  things  trot  when  they  are  at  all  inclined  to  pace, 
as  they  formerly  did  when  they  were  of  less  value  for  racing 
purposes. 

One  strong  argument  in  my  favor  is,  to  my  mind,  the  almost 
absolute  disuse  of  the  hock  joint  at  the  pacing  gait.  What  was 
that  very  important  joint  put  at  the  propelling  end  for,  if  it  were 
not  to  assist  the  animal  In  his  movements?  So  I  call  a  pacer  an 
unbalanced  trotter. 

Now  one  thing  more  about  the  preparation  of  the  foot  for  the 
shoe,  aod  I  reckon  I  am  about  through.  Don't  remove  the  sole 
from  the  loot  aaj'  more  than  just  the  width  of  the  shoe,  so  that 
the  shoe  will  not  rest  on  it.  For  winter  shoeing,  leaving  the  sole 
untouched,  prevents  to  a  large  extent  "  balling,"  and  in  summer 
it  offers  a  protection  against  picking  up  stones  and  a  strong  re- 
sistance to  nail  penetration.  Always  use  narrow-webbed  shoes, 
not  over  five-eighths  of  an  inch  wide. 

If  the  feet  are  trued  and  balanced,  make  the  shoes  of  even 
thickness  all  around  from  heel  to  heel,  for  all  four  shoes  for  each 
horse.  With  a  perfectly-levelled  and  balanced  hind  foot,  why 
put  calkins  on  the  heels  of  the  shoes.  Don't  they  throw  the  feet 
out  of  balance?  Then,  as  the  front  of  the  shoe  wears  away 
faster  than  the  hind  part  of  it,  is  not  the  lay  of  the  foot  getting 
more  and  more  off  the  level  all  the  time? 

For  myself,  I  always  put  the  shoes  on  all  feet,  drawn  a  shade, 
only  a  shade,  from  last  nail  hole  back  to  point  of  heel,  just  to 
assist  in  equalizing  the  wear  as  much  as  possible.  The  last  nails 
in  the  shoes  on  either  side  should  never  be  put  further  back 
than  on  a  line  with  the  wing  of  the  pedal  bone  under  any  circum- 
stances, except  as  already  explained  for  the  foot  that  is  too  wide. 
So  it  would  seem  that  one  of  the  surest,  safest  and  therefore 
best  ways  of  balancing  the  trotter  and  pacer  would  be  to  true  and 
balance  his  feet,  round  off  the  edges  of  the  walls  so  that  the  feet 
will  not  break  in  coming  in  contact  with  the  ground,  and  drive 
him  a  lew  days  barefooted. 

If  he  is  balanced,  that  is,  even  and  true-gaited  bare  footed 
then  shoe  him  as  directed.  For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  only  practical  way  to  "  balance  the  trotter  "  is  to  true  and 
balance  his  feet  and  make  them  be  in  proper  proportion  and  in 
proper  angle  to  the  limbs  they  support.  In  no  other  way  can  the 
gait  be  made  even  and  true  and  in  perfect  rhythm,  except  at  risk 
of  injury  to  the  joints,  muscles,  tendons,  as  a  natural  result  of 
artificial  appliances  to  the  feet  and  limbs,  in  order  to  force  the 
animal  to  an  action  that  the  position  of  his  joints  does  not  fit  him 
to  take." 

More  insight  on  this  subject  will  be  obtained  by  following 
the  directions  for  preparing  and  shoeing  the  foot  contained  in 
this  work. 


64 


That  Liverymen  Using  a 

Kasper  Self-acting 
Oats  Cleaner 

in  their  stables  have 

GOOD  SOUND    HORSES 

and  save  money  in  tlieir 
feed  bill. 


Send  for  a  Cleaner  on  30 
days'  trial,  and  if  not  satis= 
factory  return  it  at  my  ex= 
pense. 

MEDAL^v  DIPLOMA 

AWARDED    BY 

World's  Columbian 
Exposition. 


Any  i  mi  tali  on  or 

infringement 

of  tills  device 

will  be  promptly 
prosecuted  .... 


Over  14,000  in  use. 


Send  for  Descriptive  Circular  to 

Thomas  Whitfielo, 

SOLE  OWNER 

AND   MANUFACTURER 

369    Wabash    Ave., 
CHICAGO. 


(Mention  this  Book. 
65 


Directions  in  Case  of  Special  Enquiries 
for  Shoeing-  (this  and  opposite  page). 


Take  a  Set  compass  (blunt  one  point  of  compass,  to 
use  at  top  of  foot,  at  1,  3,  5  and  7),  and  measure  each 
of  the  four  (4)  feet  from  1  to  2.  Then  measure  in  same 
manner  from  3  to  4, 5  to  6,  7  to  8  and  7  to  9,  both  inside 
^nd  outside,  separately,  of  each  of  the  four  (4)  feet. 
Send  me  these  measurements  in  inches,  and  fractions 
of  an  inch,  to  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch.  The  surest 
and  most  accurate  way  to  take  the  last  four  meas- 
urements (3  to  4,  5  to  6,  7  to  8  and  7  to  9)  is  to  com- 
mence with  the  nigh  (left)  fore  foot,  first  measure  it 
on  the  OMto'cZe— carefully— at  the  four  points  desig- 
nated. Then  take  the  nigh  hind  foot,  the  same 
way,  then  the  off  hind  foot,  then  the  off  fore  foot. 
Then,  commencing  again  at  the  nigh  fore  foot,  go 
from  foot  to  foot  as  directed  and  measure  the  inside 
of  each  of  the  four  feet.  Be  careful  to  put  down 
plainly  on  a  piece  of  paper,  each  measurement  separ- 
ately and  distinctly  as  fast  as  taken.  Don't  take  a 
second  measurement  until  first  has  been  put  down. 
Place  the  blunt  point  of  the  compass  at  exactly  the 
point  where  wall  of  foot  and  flesh  join,  (at  1,3,5  and  7) 
and  the  sharp  point  at  wall  at  surface. 


66 


Directions  in  Case  of  Special  Enquiries 
for  Shoeing"  (this  and  opposite  page). 

Toeing  In. 


CORRECT 

Toeing  straight 


POSITION. 

to  the  front,  both 


before  and  behind. 


Place  horse— barefooted— on  a  piece  of  paper  on  a 
level  floor^  standing  him  as  natural  as  possible.  Draw 
a  line  through  the  center  of  paper,  as  shown  here. 
Place  point  of  inside  heel  of  each  of  the  four  (4)  feet 
on  this  line.  Then  sketch  around  the  surface  of  the 
foot  on  the  paper  with  lead  pencil,  and  send  sketches 
to  author's  address.    Keep  pencil  perpendicular. 

Send  height— in  hands— of  each  animal,  also  age, 
being  careful  to  place  age  and  height  against  the  name 
of  the  animal  to  which  they  properly  belong. 

67 


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(Mention  this  Book.) 

68 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
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Tufts  University 
2Q0  Westboro  Road 
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